The Los Angeles Lakers finally seem to be hitting their stride, winning five straight games including the first two to start their six-game road trip.
Additionally, there have been some rumblings that reinforcements could be on the way in the form of Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt.
While Vanderbilt still has some more steps to take before returning, it was recently reported that Vincent could join the Lakers and return at some point on the road trip. It appears that will be the case as according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Vincent is expected to make his long awaited return on Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets:
Lakers guard Gabe Vincent is scheduled to join team during current road trip and is expected to be available to play vs. the Nets on Sunday barring setback, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Vincent has been out since Dec. 20 due to knee surgery. pic.twitter.com/qIWF6mbHJB
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 28, 2024
This is the first good news the Lakers have gotten in a while when it comes to injuries as a number of key players have missed time throughout the course of the season.
Vincent was the Lakers’ big signing of the offseason with their mid-level exception after his breakout postseason run with the Miami Heat. The hope was that he would be able to give them two-way production off the bench similar to what Dennis Schroder did last season.
The knee injury is something that Vincent has been dealing with all year though as he played in just four games before being forced into an extended absence. He was able to return for one game in December, but the knee still continued to give him issues and he opted to get surgery to address it.
There didn’t seem to be much optimism that Vincent would be able to return, but now that he could on Sunday against the Nets, that will give him eight games to end the regular season to get back in shape and rhythm before the Play-In Tournament and playoffs start.
D’Angelo Russell calls Austin Reaves the ‘iron man’ of Lakers
Someone who hasn’t missed time due to injury this season is Austin Reaves as he is the only player on the Lakers to play in all 73 games to this point.
While the return of Vincent should help alleviate the load that Reaves has been carrying all year, D’Angelo Russell recently praised him for being the team’s ‘iron man.’
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