Lakers Injury Report: Another LA Big Man Downgraded Before Suns Game

Los Angeles' frontcourt is in jeopardy.

Nov 4, 2023; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs (4) shoots the ball against Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) and center Jaxson Hayes (11) during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

With three Los Angeles Lakers reserve big men already sidelined ahead of Friday night's matchup against the Phoenix Suns, L.A. can ill afford to lose any more frontcourt pieces.

And yet, that's exactly what might happen.

Per Jovan Buha of The Athletic, backup center Jaxson Hayes has had his status downgraded to merely probable with a sore left foot.

Hayes, 24, played 15:20 behind Davis during L.A.'s 110-103 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. He was the Lakers' lone bench scorer in double digits during that bout, nabbing 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the charity stripe. He also pulled down four boards and blocked one shot.

Last year, Hayes joined the Lakers on a one-for-one veteran's minimum contract — meaning he had a player option for 2024-25. Appearing in 70 bouts for L.A. during the regular season, Hayes averaged 12.5 minutes a night, scoring 4.3 points on 72 percent field goal shooting and 62.2 percent foul line shooting, grabbing 3.0 rebounds, passing for 0.5 assists.

Reserve power forward/center Christian Wood, two-way center Christian Koloko, and bench forward Jarred Vanderbilt have all already been ruled out for the proceedings.

Last year, the 6-foot-8 Wood suited up for 50 contests with Los Angeles last year (starting in one), averaging 6.9 points on .466/.307/.702 shooting splits, 5.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.7 blocks per contest. Koloko missed the entirety of the 2023-24 NBA season with a blood clotting issue, and is still waiting for clearance from the league to return to action, though he has apparently already been given the medical green light. Vanderbilt, who barely played last year, remains out as he recovers from offseason surgery. In his 29 available contests for the Lakers, the 6-foot-8 vet averaged 5.2 points on 51.8 percent shooting from the floor and 66.7 percent shooting from the foul line, along with 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals a night.

Former Los Angeles head coach Darvin Ham, now an assistant under head coach Doc Rivers with the Milwaukee Bucks, would occasionally employ All-NBA combo forward LeBron James or forward Rui Hachimura as his small-ball backup center to spell All-NBA starting five Anthony Davis during the postseason. Should Hayes be unable to play, that may be his primary recourse, given the other absences and Phoenix's proclivity to play small anyway.

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