Lakers News: Juan Toscano-Anderson Will Miss Multiple Weeks
Little-used reserve Los Angeles Lakers forward Juan Toscano-Anderson will be sidelined for at least two weeks with the right ankle sprain that he suffered in the second half of yesterday's 126-113 loss to the Toronto Raptors, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
The 6'6" backup small forward has appeared sporadically for L.A. He was a part of Darvin Ham's rotation to start the 2022-23 NBA season after signing a one-year veteran's minimum deal in the summer, but his inability to connect on his long-range looks limited his usefulness in Laker lineups.
Through his 14 active games, the 29-year-old is averaging just 2.2 points on .429/.182/.714 shooting splits, plus 1.8 rebounds a night.
That said, with starting power forward LeBron James and reserve big Wenyen Gabriel unavailable last night in Toronto, JTA was installed as the team's starting power forward.
Gabriel and now Toscano-Anderson will both miss the rest of L.A.'s six-game road trip, which started promisingly with statement wins over the Milwaukee Bucks and Washington Wizards, before the team was beset by injuries and fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Raptors.
Los Angeles will conclude its road trip against the Philadelphia 76ers Friday and Detroit Pistons Sunday, two very beatable clubs should the Lakers be somewhat healthy. And, despite the absences of Gabriel and to a lesser extent JTA, the team is nevertheless expected to actually get some other reinforcements in time for those two bouts. Per Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register, the team's All-Star starting frontcourt of LeBron James (sore left ankle) and Anthony Davis (illness) has seen their status upgraded to "probable" for tomorrow against Philadelphia.
L.A. has fallen to a 10-14 record on the season, and at this point must be hoping to salvage at least a 3-3 road trip with an easy W over Detroit.
