A big reason for the Los Angeles Lakers’ underwhelming start to the season has been injuries. Key players and critical role players have both missed valuable time on the court, impacting the Lakers’ regular season record.

Although the Lakers are beginning to hit their stride, a few injured players making a return would be huge for this team. The Lakers are currently 17-13 and have the sixth spot in the Western Conference, but have just recently lost their star center Anthony Davis to a left sprained ankle. That said, seeing players like Jaxson Hayes make a return to the floor would be incredible news for L.A.

Hayes serves as the backup to Anthony Davis averaging 17.5 minutes, 6.4 points, and 4.5 rebounds. He initially went down with a right ankle sprain resulting in him missing six games. He was able to make a return for a matchup against the Phoenix Suns but unfortunately reaggravated his ankle once more. He has now missed 13 straight games since the re-injury and continues fighting his way back to the court.

According to head coach J.J. Redick, Hayes was a limited participant in practice on Friday, participating in “non-contact portions of the session.” He was last listed as out ahead of the NBA Christmas Day matchup against the Golden State Warriors, and he is now reportedly listed as day-to-day with no clear timeline yet on a return.

The six-foot-nine center re-joining the team would be a huge advantage for the Lakers, especially since Davis is nursing an injury of his own, and has also been listed as questionable ahead of Saturday’s matchup.

While he isn’t a major scoring threat for the team, he provides the Lakers with a solid interior defender who can protect the rim, grab boards, and be spark for the team off the bench.

Redick addressed the media following practice on Friday regarding the progress Hayes is making.

“Good. His work primary focused on the defensive and offensive breakdowns and he looked good, moved well. So excited whenever it is to have him back in the lineup.”

“I think offensively for us, just the rim running, the pace with which he’s able to get from one action to the next as a big,” Redick said. “He’s really good in the halfcourt at screening, rolling, getting back to a second action. I think him and DLo with some of the lob stuff. He puts pressure on the rim as a roller. And then defensively, he had his best stretch for us prior to being injured. He had a four or five-game stretch where he was great on both ends. And he was also crashing and getting offensive rebounds for us. So we’ve missed him.”

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