![\"Los](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769416870_765_GettyImages-2251938954-e1767647823234.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Lakers could upgrade at the center position by adding Robert Williams for the low price tag of Rui Hachimura in a new trade idea offered up to fix their biggest defensive problems.<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> have rarely enjoyed a clean bill of health this season, with injuries forcing constant adjustments to their rotation.<\/p>\n That trend had begun to ease in recent weeks. Outside of long-term absentees Austin Reaves<\/a> and rookie Adou Thiero<\/a>, Los Angeles entered its last few games with a clear injury report.<\/p>\n Ahead of Monday\u2019s matchup against the Chicago Bulls<\/a>, however, that brief stretch of stability may be coming to an end.<\/p>\n Lakers Face Fresh Injury Question<\/p>\n Following the Lakers\u2019 116-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks<\/a> on Saturday, Jake LaRavia<\/a> has unexpectedly appeared as questionable on the injury report<\/a> due to a left quad contusion.<\/p>\n Jake LaRavia is questionable for Monday in Chicago, per the Lakers <\/p>\n It remains unclear when the injury occurred. LaRavia logged 30 minutes in Dallas, finishing with 13 points, six rebounds, one assist, and one block while shooting 4-of-8 from the field and knocking down two three-pointers.<\/p>\n Injury concerns also surfaced elsewhere during the game. Marcus Smart<\/a> appeared to jam his finger after deflecting a pass but stayed on the floor. Postgame, he revealed that he had dislocated the finger, popped it back in, and continued playing.<\/p>\n The injury affected Smart\u2019s right index finger, the same finger he underwent surgery on last summer, according to Lakers reporter Mike Trudell<\/a>.<\/p>\n With the former Defensive Player of the Year not appearing on the injury report, it doesn\u2019t appear as though he will miss time.<\/p>\n Lakers Lean on LaRavia\u2019s Growing Role<\/p>\n LaRavia\u2019s potential absence would be notable. After Rui Hachimura<\/a> suffered a right calf strain in late December, the 24-year-old was elevated into the starting lineup<\/a> and has remained there ever since.<\/p>\n Across 44 games this season, he\u2019s averaging 9.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 46.3% from the field and 34.4% from three-point range.<\/p>\n In the 23 games he\u2019s started, those numbers have jumped to 11.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.6 steals on improved shooting splits.<\/p>\n Signed to a two-year, $12 million deal last offseason, the 6-foot-7 forward has filled a clear need. His defensive versatility, floor spacing, and ability to play within the flow of the offense have helped the Lakers maintain balance alongside their stars.<\/p>\n With Reaves nearing a return<\/a>, the starting lineup was already due for another reshuffle, a timeline that could accelerate if LaRavia is forced to miss time.<\/p>\n Lakers Navigate Travel Chaos Ahead of Bulls Game<\/p>\n Complicating matters further, a major winter storm disrupted travel across much of the United States over the weekend, prompting the NBA<\/a> to cancel two games on Sunday, the Denver Nuggets<\/a> vs. Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> and Dallas Mavericks vs. Milwaukee Bucks<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dallas was unable to fly to Milwaukee, leading to the latter cancellation. The Lakers, however, appear to have avoided similar issues.<\/p>\n According to ESPN\u2019s Dave McMenamin<\/a>, a Lakers team spokesperson confirmed the team\u2019s plane departed Chicago shortly after 5:00 p.m. CT on Sunday following several delays.<\/p>\n The flight was originally scheduled to leave from Love Field before shifting to Dallas\/Fort Worth International Airport. The former was the same airport the Mavericks were unable to depart from, per NBA insider Marc Stein<\/a>.<\/p>\n For now, all signs point towards Monday\u2019s game in Chicago going ahead as scheduled. Though, once again, the Lakers\u2019 health remains anything but settled.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMatt Evans<\/a> is a sports journalist from the United Kingdom, based in Paris, with over a decade of experience covering the NBA and wider global sport. More about Matt Evans<\/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 The Los Angeles Lakers could upgrade at the center position by adding Robert Williams for the low…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518877,"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-561562","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\/115960511904682501","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561562","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=561562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}