![\"Deandre](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2238156057-e1763764010502.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Deandre Ayton of the Los Angeles Lakers is off to a great start.<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> received a timely piece of good news as they navigate growing injury concerns surrounding franchise star Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/a>.<\/p>\n Starting center Deandre Ayton<\/a> is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday night against his former team, the Phoenix Suns<\/a>, Lakers coach JJ Redick confirmed following Monday\u2019s practice.<\/p>\n \u201cDA was a full participant, and I think he\u2019s off the injury list,\u201d Redick told reporters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ayton missed the Lakers\u2019 previous two games due to elbow soreness, an injury he sustained during a Dec. 14 win against Phoenix \u2014 a twist of irony not lost on the Lakers\u2019 coaching staff.<\/p>\n Deandre Ayton\u2019s Return Stabilizes Lakers\u2019 Frontcourt<\/p>\n Ayton\u2019s absence forced the Lakers to rely more heavily on Jaxson Hayes<\/a>, who performed admirably in limited duty. Hayes averaged 12.0 points while shooting an eye-popping 90 percent from the field over the two-game stretch, but the Lakers clearly missed Ayton\u2019s size, rim protection, and interior scoring presence.<\/p>\n Since arriving in Los Angeles, Ayton has quietly revived his career after an uneven final season in Portland. The former No. 1 overall pick is averaging 15.9 points on 71.0 percent shooting, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.0 block in 29.4 minutes per game \u2014 production that has solidified him as a foundational piece in the Lakers\u2019 starting five.<\/p>\n Ayton signed a two-year, $16.6 million contract with Los Angeles after reaching a buyout with the Trail Blazers<\/a>, with the second year structured as a player option. That contract structure makes him a potential flight risk this offseason if his strong play continues.<\/p>\n \u201cAcquiring a starting-caliber center was the top priority for us this offseason,\u201d Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said<\/a> at the time. \u201cDeandre\u2019s size, mobility and playoff experience align with our championship aspirations.\u201d<\/p>\n Luka Don\u010di\u0107 Injury Raises Alarm After Clippers Loss<\/p>\n Ayton\u2019s return comes as concern continues to swirl around Luka Don\u010di\u0107, whose status remains day to day after exiting Saturday\u2019s 103\u201388 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Photos of Don\u010di\u0107 on the court with a heavy wrap around his lower left leg quickly spread across social media, sparking anxiety among Lakers fans.<\/p>\n Redick confirmed Monday that Don\u010di\u0107 suffered a lower left leg contusion but he downplayed the injury.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019ll be day to day,\u201d Redick said.<\/p>\n According to ESPN\u2019s Dave McMenamin<\/a>, Don\u010di\u0107 sustained the injury after colliding with Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovi\u0107<\/a> late in the first half at Intuit Dome. Don\u010di\u0107 was visibly hobbling before halftime and informed the coaching staff he could not continue.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw him hobbling toward the end of the first half,\u201d Redick said<\/a>. \u201cHe came to me at halftime and said he couldn\u2019t go.\u201d<\/p>\n Don\u010di\u0107 left the arena without speaking to reporters.<\/p>\n Injury Interrupts Historic Start for Don\u010di\u0107<\/p>\n The injury interrupted one of the most dominant stretches of Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s career. Entering the Clippers game, the 25-year-old was leading the NBA<\/a> in scoring at a career-best 35.2 points per game, while also averaging 9.1 assists, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.7 steals.<\/p>\n Against the Clippers, Don\u010di\u0107 endured one of his rare off halves, scoring 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting \u2014 including 1-for-6 from three-point range \u2014 while committing four turnovers. The Lakers trailed 54\u201339 at halftime and never fully recovered.<\/p>\n The contusion appeared unrelated to a similar injury that sidelined Don\u010di\u0107 for three games in late October, though the visual similarity raised immediate concern.<\/p>\n Lakers Lean on Depth as Injuries Mount<\/p>\n The Lakers have now dealt with simultaneous absences of key rotation players, making Ayton\u2019s return all the more significant. With Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s status uncertain, Los Angeles will need stability in the paint and defensive rebounding to stay afloat in the Western Conference standings.<\/p>\n Ayton also shares the same agent, Bill Duffy, as Don\u010di\u0107 \u2014 a relationship that has quietly strengthened chemistry between the two stars since Ayton\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n The Lakers will take the win where they can get it: a healthy starting center returning just as uncertainty surrounds their franchise cornerstone.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAlder Almo<\/a> is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 20 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Deandre Ayton of the Los Angeles Lakers is off to a great start. The Los Angeles Lakers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3790],"tags":[7,4034,1698,300,4044,251,150,4033,4043,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-489806","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-lakers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-la","10":"tag-la-lakers","11":"tag-lakers","12":"tag-lalakers","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangeleslakers","17":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115765819119277933","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}