The Los Angeles Lakers have been hit by the injury bug early this season as guys like Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Taurean Prince and Jalen Hood-Schifino have all missed multiple games so far.
Things seem to be looking up for L.A. as Hachimura and Prince have already returned while Vanderbilt and Hood-Schifino both appear to be making progress in their respective recoveries.
There hasn’t been much said about Vincent since he went down with left knee effusion at the beginning of November. He was finally re-evaluated this week though and the Lakers announced that he will be re-evaluated again in two more weeks, which would be Nov. 30. The Lakers added that Vincent is progressing in his rehabilitation.
While Vincent will still miss some more time, it’s good to see that he is making progress towards a return for L.A.
The guard was L.A.’s big signing of the offseason, using the mid-level exception to pry him away from the Miami Heat and replace Dennis Schroder as the lead guard off the bench.
Depth was supposed to be a strength for the Lakers this season although that has not yet materialized due to all of the injuries. Vincent was only able to play four games for L.A. before going down with the knee issue, leaving the Lakers shorthanded in the backcourt.
Darvin Ham recently made a starting lineup change to create more balance, moving Austin Reaves to the bench in favor of Cam Reddish. It will be interesting to see if Ham sticks with that once Vincent is able to return or if he continues to bring Reaves off the bench since he has thrived in that role since the change was made.
Regardless, getting guys like Vincent and Vanderbilt back will give Ham more options to work with, which will be much-needed to get through the 82-game regular season without anymore significant injuries.
Vincent discusses decision to leave Heat for Lakers
After making a run to the NBA Finals last season, leaving the Heat, who originally brought him in as an undrafted free agent, wasn’t an easy decision for Vincent.
He recently discussed what went into that and the financial aspect of it after his breakout postseason run.
“I think I had a good playoff run, and I think that changed my value,” Vincent said when asked why he ultimately didn’t return to the Heat in free agency. “ I think once that changed, it just became more difficult. I think Miami wanted me to be there. I think I was naturally looking to return to the team I just had a Finals run with and the team I had been with for the last three or four seasons. It’s unfortunate it didn’t work out. But my value had changed.”
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