The Los Angeles Lakers released their injury report for Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors and forward Rui Hachimura, who has been dealing with a left calf strain, has been upgraded to doubtful.
Additionally, Anthony Davis (left ankle sprain/bone bruise) is probable and LeBron James (left ankle peroneal tendinopathy) is questionable. Both have been on the injury report for a while with their respective injuries but have been able to play through it, which should again be the case against Toronto.
Hachimura has now missed the Lakers’ last three games after suffering the calf injury in the Dec. 31 contest against the New Orleans Pelicans. After undergoing an MRI, Hachimura was determined to have a Grade 1 calf strain and was considered to be day-to-day. Darvin Ham didn’t seem too concerned that he would miss much time.
This season has been filled with minor injuries for Hachimura though, whether it be this calf issue, a broken nose or a concussion. He has played in just 25 of the Lakers’ 37 games so far, averaging 11.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 48.5% from the field and 36.8% from 3-point range.
Ham had just inserted Hachimura into the starting lineup before he suffered the calf injury, so it will be interesting to see if he rejoins that group or if he comes off the bench, which he has done in 20 of the 25 games he’s played so far.
Regardless, health has been an issue for the Lakers all season so it is good to see that they are on the verge of being fully healthy even if Hachimura misses another game or two. That is of course with the exception of Gabe Vincent, who is dealing with a long term knee injury and won’t be back until at least March.
Rui Hachimura taking motivation from Shohei Ohtani’s contract with Dodgers
L.A. is becoming a city of Japanese sports stars as both Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are joining Hachimura in the city after signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Hachimura has a relationship with Ohtani, and he recently talked about the motivation he is taking from his fellow countryman signing a record-breaking contract with the Dodgers.
“I’m proud of being Japanese as an athlete, came from there, grew up and came here to the U.S. to be in the NBA, the top league in the world,” Hachimura told the L.A. Times. “It’s different sports, but I’m in one of the biggest organizations in the world. The Lakers. And also him as well. Baseball. Top league. Dodgers one of the biggest organizations. As a Japanese, I’m really proud of him and happy for him. He actually motivated me.”
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