The Los Angeles Lakers have been hit by the injury bug hard this year with everyone other than Austin Reaves missing time at one point or another.
With only a couple weeks left in the regular season though, reinforcements finally seem to be on the way for the Lakers. The team’s big offseason addition was point guard Gabe Vincent, but he has only been able to play in five games due to a knee injury that eventually required surgery.
After a long absence, reports indicate that Vincent is expected to return on Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets, although that has not been confirmed by the team.
Despite the expectation that Vincent will return soon, Lakers star LeBron James doesn’t want to put pressure on his teammate to rush back, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I really don’t even want to get into it too much, don’t want to put too much pressure on him. When he’s ready to go, it will be a bonus for our team. But he’s been out for quite a while, so whenever he’s ready, we’ll welcome him with open arms as a brother of ours, teammate of ours. We’ve been waiting on him but at the end of the day, we put no pressure on him. Just take his time.”
What James is saying makes sense as at this point of the season, if Vincent rushes back and reaggravates the knee issue then he will be shut down for the year. The Lakers have managed to get by without Vincent for a majority of the season and while him returning would certainly be a welcomed addition to their bench, they can manage for another game or two if he’s not quite ready.
Regardless, Vincent joined the team on their road trip in Indiana on Friday, which is another signal that he is close to a return.
Once Vincent is back, it will be interesting to see how many minutes he gets, if any, considering Spencer Dinwiddie has done well as the primary guard off the bench. Vincent had a stellar playoff run last year with the Miami Heat though so if the Lakers find a way to integrate him to finish out the regular season then that would be a good weapon to have in the postseason.
Jarred Vanderbilt targeting early April return for Lakers
Vincent might not be the only injured Lakers player on the verge of a return as recent reports indicate that Jarred Vanderbilt is targeting early April to get back in the lineup.
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