Lakers Injury Report: Long-Hurt LA Big Man Surprisingly Upgraded, Will Play vs Kings

He has been out for a while.

Nov 1, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Christian Wood (35) celebrates with Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes (11) against the LA Clippers during the third quarter at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers reserve center Jaxson Hayes, who has been out for a month with a right ankle sprain/contusion, had been questionable to make his return to action for L.A. against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.

In a bit of a surprise, the veteran big man out of Texas has seen his status upgraded and will indeed suit up for the Purple and Gold, reports Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

The 7-foot big man hasn't played in a game for Los Angeles since the team's 127-100 blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns on November 26. Across 11 healthy bouts for L.A. (one start), Hayes has averaged 6.4 points on 72.2 percent field goal shooting and 78.3 percent foul line shooting, 4.5 rebounds, 0.8 blocks and 0.8 assists a night in 17.5 minutes per.

With Hayes absent, head coach JJ Redick has had to get creative in figuring out how to spell All-NBA Second Team center Anthony Davis. Generally, Redick has opted to go small, typically slotting in forwards LeBron James and Rui Hachimura as his back-up fives. Occasionally, two-way center Christian Koloko, an athletic defensive specialist, sees some minutes. That happened most recently when Davis had to depart L.A.'s 115-113 Christmas Day victory over the Golden State Warriors with a sprained left ankle, and Koloko saw his number unexpectedly called.

In that game, Koloko logged nine minutes, scoring just two points on 1-of-1 shooting from the floor, grabbing six rebounds, and blocking a shot.

Now, with Hayes returning and James absent due to an illness, Koloko will like not leave the bench all night. Hayes, however, seems likely to resume spotting Davis off the bench. A capable athlete and rim protector, he has struggled with offense beyond the post throughout his career. But Los Angeles is no doubt grateful to have him back, as its frontcourt depth has been limited for much of the year. Backup power forward/center Christian Wood and power forward Jarred Vanderbilt have missed the entire season to date while recovering from offseason surgeries to a knee and foot, respectively.

When Wood and Vanderbilt do finally return to action, they will no doubt find themselves jockeying for minutes with Hayes on Los Angeles' bench. For now, it's exciting that Hayes at least will be able to give the Kings some trouble in the frontcourt whenever Davis sits.

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