THE the Los Angeles Lakers need all hands on deck if they want to finish the 2023-24 regular season on a high note before potentially embarking on a deep playoff run. Unfortunately, achieving this goal will be easier said than done following the latest bad news to arrive in the Lakers locker room.
CBS SportsBill Reiter reported Wednesday that the Lakers will likely be without Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood and Gabe Vincent for “the remainder of the season.” Reiter did not specify whether this also included the playoffs, however, it is clear that Los Angeles will likely be without the trio for the foreseeable future.
Sources say @CBSSports that Los Angeles Lakers players Christian Wood, Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent will miss the rest of the season. Although Vanderbilt could still return, according to sources, that is not expected to happen. @espn first reported the news about Wood.
– Bill Reiter (@sportsreiter) March 19, 2024
Vanderbilt, Wood and Vincent are far from the best the Lakers team has to offer, but that doesn’t change the fact that three season-ending injuries hurt a lot heading into the playoffs. After all, LeBron James (39) and Anthony Davis (31) aren’t getting any younger, which means it’s best to have as many backups ready as possible.
It can be safely said that the first year of Vincent’s three-year, $33 million contract with the Lakers was disappointing. The 27-year-old guard was limited to just five games due to a knee injury he suffered in the preseason. He averaged just 5.4 points and 3.0 assists when he was healthy enough to play, underscoring how much the injury held him back.
Wood was also disappointing in his first year in Los Angeles. The former UNLV product was averaging 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds with disappointing shooting splits of .466/.307/.702 before suffering a knee injury last month and it was confirmed Monday that Wood is now scheduled to undergo surgery to solve the problem.
Reiter said one of his sources indicated Vanderbilt “could come back” this season, but the consensus is that’s far from the case. The Houston, Texas native has been sidelined since February 3 due to foot sprain and has not progressed in his rehabilitation as expected. He’s averaging 5.2 points on 51.8% shooting, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 29 games so far.
Following the franchise’s latest injury news, the Lakers now hold the 14th best odds to win the 2023-24 NBA Finals on FanDuel Sportsbook. Let’s hope Los Angeles stays healthy for the rest of the year because they can’t afford to add any more names to their injured list.
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