Jaxson Hayes did relatively well during the preseason this month for the Los Angeles Lakers. Freed from the burden of being their starting center, he has had the liberty to focus on blocking shots and throwing down dunks off lob passes, and he has done a pretty good job in those areas.
In L.A.’s final preseason game on Friday against the Sacramento Kings, he had six points and four rebounds. However, he got only eight minutes of playing time because he suffered a right wrist contusion that kept him out for a good chunk of the contest.
Head coach JJ Redick said after the game that X-rays on Hayes’ hurt wrist were negative.
The Lakers looked fairly good, at least on the offensive end, on Friday and for much of the preseason when they had their regular rotation players on the court. They ran up as much as an 11-point lead over Sacramento, but once their main players exited midway through the fourth quarter, they ran out of steam and lost, 117-116.
They will now have three full days off before their regular-season opener on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors. If Hayes has to miss any time as a result of his hurt wrist, it would be detrimental, as L.A. doesn’t exactly have a deep center rotation behind starter Deandre Ayton, who looked impressive during the exhibition season.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers coach JJ Redick gives injury update on Jaxson Hayes
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
