On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers’ medical report for their game against the Toronto Raptors was made public. Forward Rui Hachimura, who has been dealing with a left calf strain, has been upgraded to doubtful.
Anthony Davis (left ankle sprain/bone bruise) is also likely to play, but LeBron James (left ankle peroneal tendinopathy) is not. It has been said that both players have been hurt for a while, but they have been able to play through it, which should happen again against Toronto.
After hurting his leg in the Dec. 31 game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Hachimura has missed the Lakers’ last three games. After getting an MRI, Hachimura was told he had a Grade 1 calf strain and was thought to be fine for the time being. The fact that Darvin Ham would miss a lot of time didn’t seem to bother him too much.
But Hachimura has had a lot of small problems this season, like this calf problem, a broken nose, and a concussion. So far, he has only played in 25 of the Lakers’ 37 games. In those games, he has averaged 11.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists while hitting 48.5% from the field and 36.8% from three-point range.
Before he hurt his calf, Ham had just put Hachimura in the starting lineup, so it will be interesting to see if he goes back to that group or comes off the bench, which is what he’s done in 20 of the 25 games he’s played so far.
In any case, the Lakers’ health has been a problem all season, so it’s good to see that they are almost fully healthy, even if Hachimura has to miss a few more games. While Gabe Vincent is out with a long-term knee injury and won’t be back until at least March, the rest of the players are healthy.
Rui Hachimura is getting inspired by Shohei Ohtani’s deal with the Dodgers. L.A. is quickly becoming a city of Japanese sports stars, as both Ohtani and Yamamoto have signed with the Dodgers and will be living with Hachimura.
Hachimura is dating Ohtani, and he recently talked about how hearing about his fellow countryman getting a record-setting deal with the Dodgers has inspired him.
Hachimura told the L.A. Times, “I’m proud to be an athlete from Japan. I was born there, grew up there, and then came to the U.S. to play in the NBA, which is the best league in the world.” I play a different sport, but I’m part of one of the biggest groups in the world. These guys. And also him. Playing baseball. The best. The Dodgers are one of the biggest teams. I’m proud of him and happy for him as a Japanese person. He inspired me.”