The Los Angeles Lakers wanted to start the current season in a dominating style. On paper, they had a strong team. It had balance as well as depth. Top stars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis are the biggest strength of the LA side. But they also have promising stars like Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. Moreover, these players were there last season when the 17-time champions reached the conference finals. The front office wanted to keep this core together.
That’s what they did this offseason. The balance and depth in the roster have yet to really help a lot. On top of that, the Lakers are struggling with a lot of injury issues already in the new season. Jarred Vanderbilt had been unavailable since the preseason with a hip injury. He is an essential member of the Laker’s defense. But now the Lakers will miss the services of the new guard, Gabe Vincent, for at least a couple of weeks.
Gabe Vincent Out For At Least Another Two Weeks
The former Miami Heat guard sustained a knee injury. As a result, the Lakers will have to play without him for the foreseeable future. The LA side has sidelined Gabe Vincent since October 30. On Thursday, the Lakers doctors re-evaluated Vincent. According to ESPN, Vincent has progressed well, and at present, he’s working on the swelling. They’re trying to bring his swelling down. Moreover, the Lakers announced that the medical staff would re-evaluate him in two weeks. Previously, on November 2, they evaluated Vincent once already. He has a three-year contract worth $33 million with the LA side.
The reason why the Lakers signed him was because of his contribution to the Heat last season. He helped the Heat reach the NBA Finals. Vincent started in 22 games for the Miami side in the playoffs last season. He averaged 12.7 points and 3.5 assists per contest. Initially, the Lakers thought he was an ideal replacement for Dennis Schroder. Darvin Ham wanted Gabe Vincent to play as the point-of-attack perimeter defender. Moreover, Ham wanted Vincent to help the Lakers in shooting three-pointers. But the LA side struggled in both areas. Moreover, Gabe shot 37.8% of three-pointers from the last playoffs.
Lakers Had A Terrible Start To This New Season
Moreover, the front office signed some new players this offseason to maintain balance in the roster. That’s when players like Cam Reddish, Taurean Prince, and Gabe Vincent joined the Lakers. The plan was to be ready for any injury issues this regular season. Moreover, when top stars like AD and Bron were so fragile and injury-prone, the Lakers were desperate for backups.
Anthony Davis asked the LA front office that he wanted a player who could play alongside him at the center as well as take some load off him. That’s why the Lakers signed Christian Wood. Hence, the Lakers sure did have a great offseason. But the start of the new season is proving that the team is too much dependent on LeBron James and Anthony Davis. After 12 games in the regular season, the Lakers are 6-6.
