Lakers Injury Report: Darvin Ham Provides 'Positive' Progress Report on Injured Role Players
Despite having stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis relatively healthy for the majority of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves fighting for their postseason lives. The team currently sits in 9th place within the Western Conference standings, holding onto dear life in the play-in tournament.
They have dealt with multiple injuries to key players in their rotation all season long, seeing them come in and out of the lineup. However, it seems that a few still injured players may be on the come-up.
Los Angeles head coach Darvin Ham provided a health update on forward Jarred Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish and guard Gabe Vincent. All three players have missed big chunks of time this season, but the Lakers are hopeful that they can return soon.
Reddish will be making his return on Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers. His defensive presence alone will help the team.
As for Vincent and Vanderbilt, Ham said that they are progressing positively. Vincent has played in just five games this season for the Lakers, and they have missed his abilities in the backcourt.
He was signed over the summer to give them a solid backup point guard, who could hound defenders on the perimeter and knock down three-point shots. The hope is that his return could help spark some of the defensive tendencies that Los Angeles was built around.
Similar to Vincent, Vanderbilt was expected to be a key contributor on defense. He has only been able to suit up for 29 games this season and was coming into his own before he got hurt.
His ability to switch around on the defensive end of the floor gave the Lakers much flexibility to work with and they have truly missed him.
If the team can get both guys back, or even one of them, their defense should improve. Getting the defense back to being even average ranked would vastly help the Lakers' chance of making any noise in the playoffs.
