The Los Angeles Lakers have been dealing with the injury bug in a significant way through the first handful of games this season, and although they finally have some good news with forward Taurean Prince, it comes at the cost of Jaxson Hayes as L.A. prepares to square off against the reigning Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat.
Prince missed each of the Lakers last two games with soreness in his knee but he will be back in action and presumably back in the starting lineup. This, at the very least, gives L.A. the full starting lineup that they began the 2023-24 season with in Prince, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell.
It’s their bench that is taking a massive hit, especially with Hayes now being ruled out due to a left ankle sprain. That’s Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino all out against the Heat on Monday night.
This leaves L.A. with a bench unit of Christian Wood, Cam Reddish and Max Christie, as well as any two-way players they choose to utilize. It’s a shorthanded unit, but one that is still more than capable of winning games as proven by their effort against the L.A. Clippers, especially against a Heat team that has had an uneven start to their 2023-24 season.
They won their opening game against the Detroit Pistons, then lost four in a row before ending their streak against the Washington Wizards. They’ve been led by the hot shooting of Tyler Herro, who is averaging 25.8 points per game and five assists through six games.
The Heat are without Caleb Martin on Monday, a huge hit to their already limited depth. Martin was pivotal in the team’s NBA Finals run last season and figured to play an even larger role this season. He is out with a knee injury.
The Lakers still have a main focus for this game that should not be affected by injury, and that is limiting turnovers and fighting for defensive boards. It has been the biggest topic of discussion in recent days and something Darvin Ham and company have said is the most necessary fix even with players out.
If the Heat are going to do anything, it will be fight for every rebound and loose ball. The Lakers cannot come out flat and lifeless against a team like the Heat, as they have been known to take advantage of that for several years.
Los Angeles Lakers (3-3) vs. Miami Heat (2-4)
4:30 p.m. PT, Nov. 6, 2023
Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida
TV: NBATV, Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Austin Reaves
SF: Taurean Prince
PF: LeBron James
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: Christian Wood, Cam Reddish, Max Christie
Projected Heat Starting Lineup:
PG: Kyle Lowry
SG: Tyler Herro
SF: Haywood Highsmith
PF: Jimmy Butler
C: Bam Adebayo
Key Reserves: Duncan Robinson, Thomas Bryant, Josh Richardson, Jaime Jaquez Jr.
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