The Los Angeles Lakers finally got themselves a rare easy win on Sunday when they routed the Sacramento Kings 125-101. For the first time in a while, they displayed a good amount of defensive toughness by holding Sacramento to 48 points on 42.9% field-goal shooting and 5-of-17 from 3-point range while forcing 11 turnovers in the second half.
They will now face a big test on Tuesday when they host the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons may have lost two games in a row, but they have the Eastern Conference’s best record at 24-8, and they capitalize on missed shots and turnovers better than almost any other team.
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For that game, the Lakers will continue to be considerably short-handed. In addition to being without Austin Reaves, who has a gastrocnemius strain, they will be without guard Gabe Vincent and forward Rui Hachimura. This will be the sixth straight game Vincent will miss due to a back ailment, while Hachimura is dealing with calf soreness.
These absences should continue to mean that players at the end of the bench, such as Nick Smith Jr. will play some meaningful minutes. On Sunday, Smith scored 21 points on 8-of-14 overall shooting and 5-of-10 from downtown in just 24 minutes, and his production helped L.A. continue to build its lead as the game progressed.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers release injury report for Tuesday’s game versus Pistons