The Lakers have learned the hard way what happens when they’re undermanned. Though Doncic and James are back, LaRavia’s exit hurts their defense.
He’s had very inconsistent scoring, but the team and their fans have recently discovered a strong defensive combination of Jake LaRavia, Marcus Smart, and Adou Thiero.
Smart remains sidelined with a left lumbar muscle strain. Thiero has played less than five minutes tonight.
Jake LaRavia makes a quiet return
It appears that the injury was not very serious. He got medically cleared to return to the game. He was, however, on the bench during the timeout.
It’s likely that he’ll get back in the game, shaving off minutes for Gabe Vincent or Dalton Knecht. Considering the online discourse, LakeShow seems to prefer LaRavia over Vincent and Jared Vanderbilt.
As part of the B-team, LaRavia has averaged 8.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 three-pointers and 1.1 steals per game.
There was a brief period during LeBron James’ extended absence due to sciatica that LaRavia had even formed a strong trio with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, earning them corny nicknames like the ‘Tres Leches of Terror.’ While it would affect his minutes, LaRavia was the most excited to play alongside King James on his return.
LaRavia had 14 points and 7 rebounds in the Lakers’ clutch win 123-120 win over the Raptors on Thursday. His decent performance was overshadowed by AR’s 44-point outing and LeBron James’ streak of 10+ points coming to an end.
So, when the Lakers faced their old nemesis, the Boston Celtics, the next day, Jake faced a barrage of criticism for scoring only six points. The Lakers lost 126-105 in what was arguably the most lackluster game in the history of this rivalry, with LeBron and Doncic absent.
Like his teammates, LaRavia had been feeling the growing pains of an NBA schedule at that point. “We were a little tired… late nights, not a lot of sleep… our job is to come out here on the court, and that starting group, me included, is supposed to come out with some pop.”
After some rest, they’re playing against the 76ers, who have outmatched several stronger teams. However, the Lakers bounced back in the third quarter and now lead 74-80.
LaRavia returned to the game for two more minutes but hasn’t tallied any points yet. And we’re unlikely to get an update on the non-issue of getting an elbow in his face after this game.