While the Lakers have their own injuries to worry about presently, they don’t have it quite as bad as their next opponent.
The Sixers, having already lost Joel Embiid to a suspension earlier in the week, saw Tyrese Maxey exit Wednesday’s game against the Clippers with a hamstring injury. On Thursday morning, Shams Charania of ESPN reported that Maxey would be out multiple weeks, obviously ruling him out of Friday’s game against the Lakers.
That leaves Paul George and a lot of role players for the Sixers on Friday. Without Maxey in the second half, Philly’s offense struggled, specifically when George sat.
The Lakers need any help they can get as things stand. After starting 3-0, they went just 1-4 on their five-game road trip to fall back to .500. Things ended on a pretty sour note in Memphis where D’Angelo Russell was benched and a visibly upset JJ Redick called the team out postgame.
On top of that, the team was without Rui Hachimura (illness) and Anthony Davis (left heel contusion) were out. While Rui’s absence is short-term, the status for AD is far more unclear.
The purple and gold now return home for a three-game homestand that starts with the Sixers. If AD or even Rui is unavailable, it’s aided by the fact that the Sixers will also be well under full strength.
Hopefully, that will be enough for the Lakers to get back to their winning ways.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
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