The Los Angeles Lakers absorbed a heavy blow on Sunday, as they got embarrassed by the Boston Celtics in a 111-89 loss at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Making the night even worse for the Purple & Gold was the injury suffered by big man Jaxson Hayes in the first half.
Hayes saw action for just five minutes before leaving and getting ruled out for the rest of the evening due to an ankle issue.
Fortunately for Hayes and the Lakers, his injury doesn't seem to be of a serious nature.
“Lakers Coach JJ Redick said center Jaxson Hayes got imaging done on his right ankle and has a small bruise,” reported Benjamin Royer of the O.C. Register via a social media post on X, formerly Twitter.
However, Hayes' status for the Lakers' next game is still up in the air, with Redick noting that the former Texas Longhorns star is “day to day.” Los Angeles is scheduled to take on Paolo Banchero nad the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night in LA.
Before he left the Celtics game, the 25-year-old Hayes had two points on 1-for-2 shooting with a rebound. His absence the rest of the night didn't help Los Angeles' cause, as the Lakers got dominated by Boston, especially on the glass. The Celtics grabbed 50 rebounds to only LA's 39 boards.
So far in his third season with the Lakers, Hayes is averaging 6.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game.
If Hayes gets ultimately ruled out for the Magic game, DeAndre Ayton could get more minutes, while Maxi Kleber and Drew Timme may also see an uptick in playing time.
