Although it took head coach Darvin Ham some time to start these five together, the Los Angeles Lakers’ established starting lineup of point guard D’Angelo Russell, shooting guard Austin Reaves, power forward Rui Hachimura, center Anthony Davis, and All-Star small forward LeBron James has been largely healthy this season. However, injuries have plagued the remainder of their roster. Most importantly, the squad has spent a large portion of the season without backup combo forward Jarred Vanderbilt and reserve point guard Gabe Vincent. Vincent is remains out due to a left knee effusion, which has kept him out of all but five games. Despite a number of injuries, Vanderbilt has only participated in 29 games. Christian Wood, the center, and Cam Reddish, the small forward, have both missed significant time.
Another Lakers role player is currently out of commission. In all honesty, compared to the four backups described above, his availability is significantly less important to the team’s success.The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that Indiana University combo guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, the Los Angeles first-round draft pick, underwent a minor back surgery today. The Lakers are referring to this treatment as a lumbar microdiscectomy, according to Charania.
With the exception of the occasional garbage time run, Hood-Schifino has not yet broken into LA’s starting lineup. In the summer draft last year, he was chosen by LA with the 17th pick, just ahead of three players who were likely to be All-Rookies: UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr., a winger for the Miami Heat; Brandin Podziemski, a guard for the Golden State Warriors; and Villanova’s Cam Whitmore, a forward for the Houston Rockets. However, it’s still early.
Hood-Schifino averaged 13.5 points on.417/.333/.776 shooting splits, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 32 games as an All-Big Ten guard with the Hoosiers in 2022–2023. The 6’6″ playmaker was viewed as a big point guard, and Rob Pelinka undoubtedly hoped he could complement James as a playmaker when needed. Hood-Schifino was primarily an off-guard player for the Lakers, playing an average of 5.2 minutes per game in just 21 games.
During his time with the South Bay Lakers, LA’s NBAGL affiliate, he made an impression. But in his fifteen games with South Bay, Hood-Schifino appeared to be developing into a reassuringly strong scorer. In addition to his.473/.432/.800 scoring line, he averaged 22 points, 5.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 0.6 blocks a game.
