After Wednesday’s heartbreaking 104-101 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the Los Angeles Lakers will start a four-game road trip on Saturday. The trip will commence with a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and with contests later on against the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder, it will be a challenging one.
Another reason this trip could be a tough one is the Lakers find themselves short-handed again, just as they did for the first couple of weeks of the season.
On Friday, it was announced that key reserve forward Rui Hachimura would miss at least a week of action. He suffered a nasal fracture in Wednesday’s game, and as a result, he underwent a procedure.
Forward Jarred Vanderbilt still hasn’t returned from a bout of left heel bursitis, while Cam Reddish missed Wednesday’s contest with groin soreness. Reddish is listed as questionable for Saturday’s matchup.
Cam Reddish (groin) is questionable for Saturday’s game in Cleveland, per the Lakers. The team continues to designate LeBron James as questionable with his calf and Anthony Davis as probable with his hip.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 24, 2023
Reddish and Vanderbilt are perhaps L.A.’s two best wing defenders right now, and it is defense that allowed it to win six of its last seven games prior to its loss to Dallas. In addition, Gabe Vincent, a high-quality backcourt defender, is still out of action because of a knee ailment.
