When asked what goals the Los Angeles Lakers should set for the remainder of the regular season, Jarred Vanderbilt offered a two-word reply that summarized their current state: "Getting healthy." It's been the unfortunate reality hanging over Los Angeles' head in 2024-25, as health simply hasn't been on their side.
As the postseason nears and the Lakers realize that the No. 2 seed and the Play-In Tournament are both possibilities, however, good news appears to be on its way.
Los Angeles is coming off of a game against the Milwaukee Bucks during which Jaxson Hayes was the only starter who played. It was an exaggerated example of their current predicament, but it simultaneously epitomized the past few weeks of Lakers basketball.
Thankfully, according to Mark Medina of CBSLA, Lakers head coach JJ Redick hopes that Hachimura and James will return on Saturday against the streaking Chicago Bulls.
Lakers coach JJ Redick said that he’s “hopeful” that LeBron James and Rui Hachimura will play on Saturday against the Chicago Bulls
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) March 21, 2025
The Lakers are in a good place in the standings, but there's no way around how desperate they are to get back to full strength before they lose their momentum.
LeBron James, Rui Hachimura could return as soon as Saturday
James has been absent from the Lakers' past seven games due to a groin injury. Los Angeles was on an eight-game winning streak when he got hurt against the Boston Celtics, and he'd already tallied 22 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists during that encounter.
Unfortunately, just as Luka Doncic, James, and Austin Reaves seemed to be developing chemistry as the team's new big three, the injury struck.
Hachimura, meanwhile, has missed the Lakers' past 12 games. He's been essential when healthy, providing energy on both ends of the floor that has proven infectious since the opening tip. To make matters worse, he was in the midst of his best stretch of the 2024-25 season.
Across the 17 completed games that preceded his injury, Hachimura was averaging 16.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 2.0 three-point field goals made on .542/.395/.730 shooting.
It's anything but hyperbolic to state that Hachimura and James' respective returns could help save the Lakers from a disastrous end to an otherwise excellent season. Los Angeles is currently the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, sitting 0.5 games back of the No. 3 Denver Nuggets and a mere 1.5 behind the No. 2 Houston Rockets.
In a testament to how deep the Western Conference is, however, they're also just 0.5 ahead of the No. 5 Memphis Grizzlies and 4.0 away from the Play-In Tournament.
For as crazy as it sounds, Los Angeles is almost equally as likely to enter the playoffs with home-court advantage as it is to have to win just to get in. As such, getting healthy, as Vanderbilt said, is the single most important thing this team can do.
Thankfully, the starting lineup could gain two of its most important players as soon as Saturday against Chicago, which is 6-2 over its past eight games.
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