Los Angeles Lakers: Josh Hart not a fan of having to rehab

Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Josh Hart has a length rehab ahead of him, something he isn’t too thrilled about.

The Los Angeles Lakers dealt with a ton of injuries during the 2018-19 regular season. There are a number of reasons that the Lakers will be missing the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, but injuries are as big of a reason as any.

Numerous rotation players missed large chunks of the season, ruining any chance the team had to develop chemistry and cohesion. When you have as many new players as the Lakers did, especially one with of the magnitude of LeBron James, finding chemistry is extremely important, and that chemistry was never found.

Another player that battled injuries throughout the season was Josh Hart. Hart is an excellent fit alongside James, unfortunately, we didn’t get to see him at full strength alongside LeBron for much of the season.

Hart battled tendonitis in his knee as early as January. While he tried battling through the ailment, it sapped his production on the court.

At the start of the season, Hart was as good as anyone wearing purple and gold. Hart was spreading the court, knocking down 37.8 percent of his 3-point attempts and averaging nine points per game.

His defensive abilities were on full display, as Hart had a team-high plus/minus of +2.9 through the first 30 games of the season. In addition, he was top-five on the Lakers in offensive and defensive rating on the team during the same time span. After that, his production fell off.

Hart struggled mightily in 2019. He was -5.3 or worse in January, February and March as his offensive and defensive production cratered. In January and February, Hart shot 42-of-129 (32.6 percent) and 15-of-73 (20.5 percent) from the 3-point line.

While it was admirable for Hart to battle through the injury while so many other Lakers were sidelined, he wasn’t helping the team much. Eventually, the team shut him down and he underwent surgery on his right knee.

The surgery required at least 12 weeks of recovery. That means a lengthy rehab was ahead of him, something he was frustrated with and not looking forward to.

"“It will definitely be different, it will be more frustrating,” Hart said of his lengthy offseason rehab. “I think not being able to get onto the court for another, month and a half, two months, that’s the frustrating aspect. Right now, rehab is slow on this.”"

There is only so much you can do while rehabbing from an injury. Los Angeles isn’t going to push him unnecessarily hard during the offseason.

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However, Hart does realize that this is a necessary step in his recovery. Once he is able to, he will put in the work on the court to improve his game, just as he was doing last summer.

"“It’s boring and it’s frustrating for me. I’m going to continue with the process and when it’s time for me to get on the court, (I’ll) just keep putting in the work like I did last summer and just focus on that,” Hart said."

The work Hart put in was showcased last year during Summer League play. Hart was dominant in Las Vegas, taking home MVP honors. That work was translating to regular season games before his knee issues flared up.

Hart is a key component of the Lakers’ bench unit. His versatility on both ends of the court makes him a great fit alongside pretty much everyone on the roster.

Hopefully, Hart is able to overcome this injury and return to form. It is something the Lakers would greatly benefit from, as they performed at a higher level when Hart was healthy and contributing.