The Los Angeles Lakers will hope to extend their winning streak to three games when they take on Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic on the road on Saturday.
But they will have to do so without several key players, as Rui Hachimura (concussion protocol), Jarred Vanderbilt (left heel bursitis), Jalen Hood-Schifino (right patella contusion) and Gabe Vincent (left knee effusion) have already been ruled out for Los Angeles.
Additionally, Taurean Prince is listed as questionable to play with left patellar tendonitis.
The Lakers beat the Magic on Oct. 30 and Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 1. They were both close games, as the Lakers beat the former by just three points and the latter by five points in overtime.
Lakers star forward LeBron James enjoyed arguably his best of the season thus far in the team’s win over the Clippers. He scored a season-high 35 points while converting 13 of his 19 shots from the floor, including half of his eight 3-point attempts. Plus, James grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out seven assists for the Lakers.
Kawhi Leonard was arguably the Clippers’ best player in the loss, as he scored 38 points and came up with two steals.
Vincent — who signed a three-year deal with the storied franchise in the offseason after playing for the Miami Heat during the 2022-23 regular season — has had an inauspicious start to his Lakers career. Through four games with Los Angeles so far, the guard is averaging just 6.0 points per game and is shooting a dreadful 7.1 percent from behind the 3-point line.
Conversely, Prince has played solid basketball in his first few games as a Laker. He is averaging 10.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game while knocking down 40.9 percent of his 3-point shots on 5.5 attempts per game.
Considering Prince has served as an effective role player for the Lakers so far this season, here’s to hoping that he’ll be feeling up to playing in Saturday’s game against the Magic.
Orlando owns a solid 3-2 record on the season and beat the Utah Jazz by two points on Thursday behind a 30-point performance from Banchero.
