Injuries are never an aspect of basketball that teams will enjoy navigating, but look hard enough and there is usually a silver lining to be found in those types of situations. For the Los Angeles Lakers, that will come in the form af an open competition between Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Jake LaRavia.
With no Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Gabe Vincent, or Marcus Smart available in the Lakers' last matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers, JJ Redick was tight on options. The second-year head coach rolled out Hachimura, Vanderbilt, and LaRavia alongside Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton as his five starters.