After missing the last five games due to a calf strain, Rui Hachimura is nearing a return from his calf strain. Rui was upgraded to questionable ahead of Friday’s game against the Bucks.
LeBron James has also been upgraded to questionable after missing Wednesday’s game against the Spurs.
The Lakers have been without a host of starters and rotation players over the last week. Slowly but surely, the team has been working its way back to full health.
Gabe Vincent returned on Tuesday after a long absence and now Rui looks set for his own return. That being said, given that Reaves just returned from his own calf strain and reinjured it, the Lakers may choose a more cautious approach this time around, though not all injuries are created the same, either.
At the end of the day, though, the Lakers’ injury report is getting shorter, which is a big win. Even as they battle injuries, they’ve been racking up wins lately, an encouraging sign.
There will be an interesting decision that’ll have to be made once the Lakers get back to full strength as the team’s starting lineup has been the cause of concern. Rui has often been seen as the most likely to move to the bench.
Those decisions likely won’t come until Reaves is back and healthy, though. There is a chance, depending on his minutes restriction, Rui does come off the bench, though. When Reaves recently returned from his calf strain, he came off the bench in his first game back.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how Rui is used once he does return, which hopefully comes on Friday.