It looks like the fog is being lifted off the Los Angeles Lakers. The injury concerns of LA have come down by two players – Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura. Ahead of the Houston Rockets matchup, there is good news regarding the two.

Vanderbilt, who is yet to make his season debut, has been cleared to take the floor on Saturday. After missing 20 games, the Rockets vs Lakers game will be Jarred’s first game of the newly introduced In-Season Tournament as well.

Jarred Vanderbilt set to take load off the Lakers

The Lakers looked thoroughly gassed out against the OKC Thunder last night. Ham’s explanation included not having enough bodies for rotation and certain factors that are “beyond our control”. Well, their next matchup will have one of those solved. Namely, the availability of bodies on the floor.

Rui Hachimura had taken a hit to his nose on November 22nd during LA’s hard-fought battle with Dallas. After the corrective procedure, Hachimura was announced as having to miss, at the very least, the next week of the season. Jarred Vanderbilt, on the other hand, had been nursing a left heel bursitis throughout the preseason.

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It was only on November 13th that the medical staff cleared him for light workouts. With two able-bodied forwards back in the game, the purple and gold should be able to look forward to fruitful in-season games the rest of the way.

The Lakers’ woes these past months

Having lost many key players abruptly to injuries, prior to the season and during, the Lakers have had a rough time. With the team’s depth seeing a steep decline, Hachimura’s injury served to be the last blow that shattered them. Cam Reddish taking the lead to provide a respite during Gabe and Vando’s absence, had helped LA steer through.

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However, a groin injury relegated him to the sidelines for four of the last five games. By now, Coach Ham was left with an eight-man rotation. While Wood and Hayes joined Reaves off the bench, Max Christie took the place of Reddish in the starting lineup by D’Lo’s side. These kinds of offsets are not easy to simply paddle by.

And the struggles were all too obvious during their loss to the 76ers and on the defensive end. Vanderbilt’s defensive acumen has been of much value to the Lakers, even with Davis‘ presence on the court. Though not on par with Vando, Rui can hold his own, as displayed during the Western Conference finals against Jokic.

Hayes and Reddish are also listed as available against the Rockets. With the Lakers going back to full strength with the exception of Vincent, we can be sure that it won’t be long before they are well on their way.

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