The Los Angeles Lakers expect to be shorthanded on Tuesday night.
Following the team’s blowout victory against the Sacramento Kings, the Lakers prepared for their battle against the Detroit Pistons with a practice session on Monday. It was revealed that the starting center, Rui Hachimura, was not a part of the session.
Hours after the practice session concluded, Hachimura’s absence was reflected on the injury report. The Lakers have ruled out the starting center for the matchup against Detroit on Tuesday night.
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The Lakers labeled Hachimura’s injury as calf soreness. It’s a new setback for the veteran center.
Recently, the Lakers’ forward had been dealing with a groin issue. He missed two games. The first absence occurred on December 20, when the Lakers visited the Los Angeles Clippers. LA lost 103-88.
The second absence happened on December 23 when the Lakers took on the Phoenix Suns. For the second game in a row, the Lakers came up short with a 132-108 loss.
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Hachimura returned to the Lakers’ lineup on December 25. In the Christmas Day matchup, which involved disappointing results for LA, Hachimura checked in for 27 minutes. He scored zero points, going 0-6 from the field. He also had just two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
When the Lakers hosted the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, Hachimura started for 26 minutes. He bounced back with a 12-point outing, while shooting 5-10 from the field. He also had four rebounds, one assist, and two steals in the bounce-back win.
This season, Hachimura has started all 27 games for the Lakers. He is posting averages of 12.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, and under one block and one steal.
The Lakers will be back on the court for a 10:30 PM ET tip against the Pistons on Tuesday. The next time Hachimura could return to action is on Friday, when the Lakers host the Memphis Grizzlies.