Lakers to be without Jaxson Hayes due to ankle injury
The Los Angeles Lakers’ frontcourt took another hit with center Jaxson Hayes expected to miss time after suffering a left ankle sprain in practice on Tuesday.
“Honestly, a freak play in practice, was against coaches,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the Grizzlies game via ESPN. “And he didn’t even land on an ankle. … It was just an awkward kind of fall, and an ankle rolled. There was no contact. I’m bummed for Jaxson.”
Hayes has served a key role off the bench for the Lakers, especially with fellow big man Christian Wood, who is now expected to miss at least another month after suffering a setback while picking up his recovery from offseason surgery on his left knee.
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Hayes was coming off one of his best performances of the season, recording 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor along with six rebounds and a block in the win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
In 10 games played, he is averaging 6.3 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 70.6 percent from the floor in 17.5 points per game. He has notched two double-digit scoring outings and five games with at least five rebounds.
With Hayes sidelined, it puts two-way player Christian Koloko into a prominent role as the primary backup to Anthony Davis, who is dealing with an eye injury that he suffered against the Raptors. The Lakers will lean on Koloko to play pivotal minutes to spell Davis while also mixing the rotations with smaller lineups.
