The Los Angeles Lakers put out their injury report for Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls and point guard Gabe Vincent is listed as probable.
Elsewhere on the injury report, Jarred Vanderbilt (left heel bursitis) is probable while Anthony Davis (left ankle sprain/bone bruise) and LeBron James (left calf contusion) are listed as questionable. Davis and James have been able to play through their respective injuries, as has Vanderbilt, so it’s likely that all will be available for the Lakers against the Bulls.
If that’s the case, it would mark the first time all season that the Lakers have all of their rotation players available at the same time. Vincent has missed all but the first four games of the season with left knee effusion.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham recently stated that Vincent had a few more boxes to check conditioning wise before being able to return, so it seems that he was able to check those if he does indeed play on Wednesday.
Getting Vincent back is big for L.A. as he was the organization’s big offseason addition, using their midlevel exception to sign him to a three-year, $33 million contract. The former undrafted guard was coming off a stellar postseason run with the Miami Heat to earn the new deal.
The Lakers have been shorthanded pretty much all season, which has made it really had to see what they have with this roster. The team currently sits at 15-12 but there remains belief that they are contenders if they are whole.
Now that will get a chance to show that with Vincent coming back. He was brought in to provide point-of-attack defense and timely shooting, which are things the Lakers have greatly missed in his absence.
It remains to be seen if Vincent will be on any sort of minutes restriction although the organization will likely be careful in his first few games to ensure he is 100% healthy and doesn’t re-injure the knee.
After Wednesday’s game against the Bulls, the Lakers will then travel to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday. Given that it’s a back-to-back, Vincent could sit out that second game in Minnesota.
LeBron James believes road trips have affected Lakers’ energy
The Lakers are getting Vincent back at a good time considering the team has lost three of its last four games. The schedule has played a role in that. as the Lakers have been on the road for most of December, which James thinks has affected the team’s overall energy.
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