Lakers center Jaxson Hayes avoided major injury on his right wrist after a hard fall in Friday’s preseason finale as X-rays taken after the game came back negative and an MRI scan revealed what Hayes on Sunday called “a light sprain.”
The 7-footer missed the second half of Friday’s exhibition game with a right wrist contusion after he caught a lob from Luka Doncic and was bumped in the air while jamming a two-handed dunk in the first quarter. He stayed in the game for the second quarter and expects to be ready for Tuesday’s regular-season opener against the Golden State Warriors.
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“Being a dummy,” Hayes said after practice Sunday of how he got hurt on the play. “I shouldn’t have tried to catch myself, should’ve just fallen.”
Hayes scored six points in the preseason loss to the Sacramento Kings, all on soaring dunks. He and Doncic connected on Hayes’ first basket of the game as they were playing together in the preseason for the first time.
Read more: Luka Doncic sharp again, but Kings rally to beat Lakers
Doncic’s wizardry in the pick-and-roll makes him an athletic rim-running center’s dream as the crafty point guard drops passes from every imaginable angle. But in Doncic’s first training camp with the Lakers since last year’s midseason trade, players, including new center Deandre Ayton are still adjusting to Doncic’s passes.
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While coach JJ Redick said he was happy with the Lakers’ 28 assists to 10 turnovers in the preseason game against the Kings, he estimated the team missed seven assist opportunities because of misfired lobs or overly complicated passes.
“For all bigs and point guards, when you start playing with a new big or a new point guard, it’s a learning period,” Hayes said. “You just learn how they like their screens. You learn how they like you to roll to the hoop. It’s just little things. You learn where they like to pass you the ball. … It’s just those guys [Doncic and Ayton] are figuring each other out, just like me and Luka did last year.”
The chemistry between Hayes and Doncic has gotten so strong that Hayes is being recruited to join the…
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