For the first time this season, the Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a win as they head into Wednesday's matchup against Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans. LeBron James and Co. have started the season with a 1-5 record, and they've done so without the services of offseason acquisition Dennis Schroder.
Schroder, who is now on his second spell with the Lakers, is still recovering from injury after undergoing surgery on his thumb in October. It sounds like he's nearing a return to action, although the team have yet to provide a clear timetable on the 29-year-old's comeback.
On Wednesday, Schroder was seen putting some shots up inside the Lakers facility:
Dennis Schroder getting in some work. He’s 10 days or so away pic.twitter.com/DQN7GvPs50
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) November 1, 2022
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham provided a significant update on Schroder's status, saying that the 6-foot-3 combo guard could be making his season debut in the coming week or so (via Lakers reporter Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group):
We’re seeing Dennis Schröder do individual work with Phil Handy, including dribbling and shooting with his injured right hand, after practice today. Darvin Ham says he hasn’t been cleared for contact yet, but he’s about “a week to 10 days out.”
Not long after Ham's update, however, the Lakers seem to have backpedaled on their coach's statement:
Lakers clarify this is merely an estimate, he’s scheduled to be evaluated in a week: https://t.co/sSCJYQmVs1
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) November 1, 2022
To be clear, the Lakers' follow-up statement does not completely contradict Ham's initial update. Schroder could very well be cleared to play after he's re-evaluated in a week's time, making Ham's timeline accurate. Then again, it does feel like the team are being non-committal here, which could also mean that Schroder is still quite a ways away from returning.
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