The Los Angeles Lakers entered Saturday’s clash with the LA Clippers severely depleted, missing starters Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, and Rui Hachimura. Matters worsened when Luka Doncic exited early with a left leg contusion. Short on bodies and momentum, the Purple & Gold were left with little margin for error against their fully loaded crosstown rivals.

These absences led Los Angeles to a humiliating 103-88 loss against a lowly Clippers team that had only won six games before last night. Straight off the bat, the Lakers looked lackluster, as they never really looked in control without their key players. However, thankfully, despite this embarrassing defeat, Lakers announcer Mike Trudell provided a positive update on these injuries.

“So Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton have a chance to return next game at Phoenix. We’ll see on both of them. Austin, in the course, has been out for around a week without calf soreness,” Trudell said.

Reaves and Ayton coming back for LA’s clash against Phoenix on Tuesday is great news for the franchise, as both these starters have played huge roles in their team’s successful start to the season. On one hand, Austin Reaves has arguably emerged as the Purple & Gold’s second-best player this season behind Doncic.

Reaves has been averaging 27.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game before he sustained the calf injury. Deandre Ayton has also been quite important for Los Angeles this season, as he’s somewhat helped them fill the void left by Anthony Davis at the center position. He’s been averaging a terrific 15.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game.

“Ayton got his elbow tied up with Mark Williams in that Phoenix game, and the Lakers were able to win. He went through a full workout today. It seemed like he looked pretty good.”

“So we’ll see, but I hope there’s some hope there. And then Rui Hachimura, it’s going to be three to five days, was the time period that J.J. Redick said, so that would take him out of the Phoenix game, but maybe he could return on Christmas,” the reporter further revealed during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s matchup.

While it’s great to hear that these two stars plus Rui Hachimura will also be returning to the court soon, JJ Redick and Co.’s worries don’t seem to end anytime soon. That’s because, as we mentioned, Luka Doncic exited Saturday’s game at halftime because of a leg contusion. So, what’s the latest update on LA’s other star?

What’s the latest update on Luka Doncic after he exited Saturday’s game?

The Los Angeles Lakers cannot seem to catch a break, as they have suffered yet another blow after Luka Doncic. The Slovenian guard left the game after logging just 20 minutes in Saturday’s game. Although everyone seemed surprised when Doncic did not return after the first half, Lakers head coach JJ Redick later revealed that he got hurt at some point during the second quarter.

“I saw him hobbling towards the end of the first half. He came to me at halftime and said he couldn’t go,” Redick told ESPN.

While JJ Redick revealed what exactly went down with his point guard, when asked about when he expects Doncic to return to the court, he simply stated that he had “no other information” on the extent of his injury. While we await more information on the Lakers guard, it’s worth noting that the 26-year-old missed three games in October with a lower left leg contusion.

This is the same leg he suffered the injury on last night. Even though there’s no correlation between the two blows, it’s still something that might affect his availability. Nonetheless, hopefully, this injury isn’t a serious one as the Lakers rely heavily on their superstar guard, and without him, they might struggle, as we’ll update you once more information on his injury is revealed.

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