Lakers newsletter: What's going on with all the Lakers' injuries?

Los Angeles Times

13-03-2025

Hey everyone, I'm Dan Woike and welcome to The Times' latest Lakers Newsletter, a weekly reminder to our most loyal readers that I am not on any injury reports. If I were, say with some kind of a Grade 2 brain strain, it wouldn't matter much. But the names actually on the Lakers' injury report? They're starting to add up.
Here are some thoughts on all six that were on there Monday:
LeBron James
If you're looking for encouraging signs in regard to the groin injury that James suffered Saturday in Boston, the fact that he stayed with the team in New York instead of bolting back to Los Angeles for treatment is something. He headed back to Los Angeles on Wednesday, avoiding a pair of overnight flights after the Lakers play in Milwaukee on Thursday and Denver on Friday.
There still isn't any public timetable on for his return, but here are a couple of important facts. One, he suffered a major groin injury in his first season with the Lakers and missed more than a month. And James said this injury isn't that. And two, we know James didn't heard any pops or anything like that, which he experienced in the more serious injury.
But we also know that groin injuries can be tricky and with the playoffs looming, the Lakers and James want to make sure he's as healthy as possible for the final push of the season.
Luka Doncic
He's been on the injury report for calf injury management, for back soreness Monday and for ankle soreness Thursday. But as of late, Doncic has been good enough to be on the court, and that's what the Lakers should expect.
Teams, though, are going to be physical with Doncic, especially without James, and bruises and soreness seem inevitable.
Rui Hachimura
Hachimura is back on the court doing work, a really positive sign after he missed the last six games because of knee pain. He left the win against Minnesota on Feb. 27 after a dunk, but the injury was actually something he'd been playing through since the win in Denver five days before.
He's out Thursday and Friday, but it seems likely he'll be back during the homestand next week — a welcome sign after JJ Redick called Hachimura 'the glue' to what the Lakers are trying to do on both sides of the court.
Jaxson Hayes
Like Hachimura, Hayes won't play in the next two games. He also doesn't have any structural damage to his right knee, but he did suffer a minor hyperextension in the win against the Knicks leading to swelling related to a bone bruise.
The Lakers really missed him in their last two losses, and they'll really miss him Thursday and Friday, but my understanding is this isn't viewed to be a long-term problem.
Hayes, who has an incredibly important stretch of basketball ahead of him personally with unrestricted free agency waiting this summer, is expected back next week provided things keep moving in a good direction.
Dorian Finney-Smith
Finney-Smith didn't play in the loss against the Nets because of an ankle issue, and unsurprisingly, his absence coincided with Redick calling out the Lakers for a lack of communication. Finney-Smith has become one of the team's most talkative players and a consistent source of energy.
The good news? He's back Thursday against the Bucks. The bad news? The ankle is something the Lakers are going to need to continue to monitor, especially with Thursday starting a stretch in which the Lakers play six times in eight days.
Maxi Kleber
Kleber, acquired from Dallas in the Doncic deal, underwent surgery after breaking his foot in late January and is due for another evaluation in early April. He's had a very start-and-stop season because of injuries, and integrating Kleber late, even if he's healthy, is going to be a challenge.
But like Finney-Smith, Hachimura, James and Jarred Vanderbilt, Kleber is a switchable defender who can play some center in small-ball lineups, making him the kind of weapon the Lakers would love to have in the playoffs.
'Better Days (And the Bottom Drops Out)' by Citizen King
Let's Milwaukee! Breaks my heart that Citizen King never became a bigger thing because their blend of hip-hop, new wave rock and funk lived in my CD player for a couple of summers in the early 2000s. And while things are going to look rough here while the Lakers get healthier, it's a reminder that they've seen better days, and better ones should be on the way too.
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