The Los Angeles Lakers will be undermanned as they wrap up a five-game road trip in Memphis against the Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
Head coach JJ Redick informed reporters pre-game that forwards Anthony Davis (heel) and Rui Hachimura (illness) would both be out for the Western Conference matchup.
Redick added that Davis — who injured his left ankle late in the Lakers’ loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday night — was generally positive about his heel throughout warmups in Memphis, but the team felt it was better to get him right before Friday’s home contest against the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I don’t expect to go through this Friday,” Redick said. “I think for all of us, we want to take a long-term view of our players’ health.”
The nine-time All-Star hadn’t missed a game for the 4-3 Lakers prior to the injury, averaging a career-high 32.6 points and 11.6 rebounds. Davis also leads the league with 12 free throw attempts per game.
Meanwhile, Hachimura had also appeared in all seven games for Los Angeles. The former ninth-overall pick in 2019 is averaging 13.6 points and a career-high 6.4 rebounds while shooting an impressive 57.1 per cent from the three-point line.
With both Davis and Hachimura out, two players who average over 30 minutes of action a night, Redick is going to turn to Christian Koloko who’ll be making his Lakers debut on Wednesday.
Redick mentioned that the former Toronto Raptor will be in the rotation for his first NBA action since the 2022-23 season, as a rookie. The former second-round pick signed with Los Angeles in the summer. He was waived by the Raptors last season to make roster space whilst missing the entire campaign due to a blood clot issue.
Koloko averaged 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 13.8 minutes a game through 58 appearances in his lone professional season.
Last week the NBA’s fitness-to-play panel cleared him for return to game action and now it appears he’ll factor into Wednesday’s matchup against the 4-4 Grizzlies.
The game tips off at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, with coverage available on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
—with files from The Associated Press
