Los Angeles Lakers: Josh Hart in, Lonzo Ball out vs. Bucks

On Friday night, the Los Angeles Lakers will be facing the Milwaukee Bucks with Josh Hart returning to the lineup.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been hit hard by the injury bug in the second half of the season. Since the All-Star break, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, and Isaiah Thomas have all missed games due to injury.

Recently, Thomas underwent a successful hip surgery and is expected to miss the next four months. While Thomas might have played his final game with the Lakers, the team recently got Brandon Ingram back.

Ingram did pretty well in his return against the Dallas Mavericks and it was certainly good to see him back on the court. As one of the best players on the team, the Lakers are a much better team with a healthy Ingram.

While the Lakers saw Ingram return against the Mavericks, they also saw Lonzo Ball leave the game early with a knee contusion. Ball has been ruled out against the Bucks, as they will obviously be playing it careful with him.

The good news for the Lakers on Friday is that Josh Hart will be making his return to the lineup. Hart has been out for the entire month of March with a broken bone in his hand. With Ball out once again, his return comes at a good time.

This season, Hart has been a solid player for the Lakers, as his ability to be a two-way guard has certainly made the Lakers a better team. Even though Hart’s numbers for the season don’t jump off the page, he has played well since being given more opportunities.

As a starter, Hart is averaging 11.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. Since it is Hart’s first game back, he likely won’t be playing a ton of minutes. The Lakers were somewhat careful with Ingram against the Mavericks in his first game back, as he played just 23 minutes.

Next: 3 Takeaways since the All-Star break

With eight games left, it would be nice to see the Lakers get their young core all healthy at the same time. Hopefully, we will see that happen.