Lakers Injury Report Against The Nuggets
On Tuesday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers are facing off against the Denver Nuggets (at Ball Arena in Colorado) for their first game of the 2023-24 regular season.
For the game, their injury report has been announced (h/t Daniel Starkand of Lakers Nation).
The Lakers have ruled out Jalen Hood-Schifino, Jarred Vanderbilt, Alex Fudge, D'Moi Hodge and Colin Castleton.
Hood-Schifino was the 17th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft out of Indiana, and Vanderbilt is a key role player, who averaged 7.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per contest last season.
Meanwhile, Fudge, Hodge and Castleton are all two-way players that are inactive.
Being without Vanderbilt is a significant loss for the Lakers, but they will have all their star players in the starting lineup, such as LeBron James, D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Davis.
Last year, the Lakers were the seventh seed in the Western Conference with a 43-39 record.
They beat the Minnesota Timberwolves (play-in tournament), Memphis Grizzlies (first round) and Golden State Warriors (second round), but were swept by the Nuggets in the Conference Finals.
That said, the season was still a huge success because they were not a good team during the first half of the year, but trades that improved the roster made a huge difference.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets were the first seed in the west, and after beating the Lakers, they won the 2023 NBA Championship over Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat (in five games).
On Tuesday, they will get their championship rings.
