Lakers short‑handed tonight
Deandre Ayton is listed out for the Lakers, leaving L.A. thin inside — the same injury roundup downgraded Immanuel Quickley to doubtful and tagged Myles Turner as questionable. (x.com) (x.com)
The Lakers’ pregame medical update specifically listed Ayton with back soreness, a designation relayed by beat writers Dan Woike and Khobi Price in the team’s injury bulletin. Coaching staff signaled they’ll shift interior minutes to Jaxson Hayes and Jake LaRavia after the late-day report, with Hayes averaging roughly 19.0 minutes in March and LaRavia averaging 29.8 minutes as a starter this season. Ayton has posted 12.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game this season while shooting 67.2% from the field across 63 appearances, numbers that quantify the size of the frontcourt gap the Lakers must cover. The same update listed Rui Hachimura (right calf soreness) and Marcus Smart (right ankle contusion) on that day’s inactive list, removing established secondary scoring and perimeter defense from the available rotation. The league-wide injury roundup that included the Lakers also downgraded Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley to doubtful with right-foot plantar fasciitis, a status that kept him off Toronto’s second night of a back‑to‑back and pushed more ball‑handling duties to Jamal Shead and Ja’Kobe Walter. Myles Turner was listed questionable with right patella tendonitis in that same set of reports, a short‑term availability concern for the Bucks after Milwaukee signed him in free agency last July. The Lakers traveled to Indianapolis for Wednesday’s game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse (7:00 p.m. ET), a matchup where the team’s temporary frontcourt reshuffle and the absence of key rotation pieces will determine coach lineup choices and minute allocations.
