Jake

LaRavia

LaRavia will shed his questionable tag and play through his left quad contusion. He should remain in the starting lineup, with Rui Hachimura supporting him off the bench and picking up additional minutes if LaRavia is limited.

LaRavia, who’s been a fixture in the starting lineup since the end of December, is dealing with a left quad contusion. If he’s unable to play against the Bulls, that opens the door for Rui Hachimura to start for the first time since going down with a strained calf last month.

Since making his return from a strained calf on January 13, Hachimura’s playing time has increased steadily. Thursday’s game was the second straight in which he logged 28 minutes, and the Lakers’ forward was solid. The question now is whether Hachimura is locked into the reserve role or will he reclaim his place in the starting lineup. Jake LaRavia (7/5/1/3/4 with two three-pointers) was highly productive as a defender on Thursday, but he only played 22 minutes as the starter. That’s something to be mindful of as the Lakers move forward.

LaRavia shot the ball efficiently on Thursday en route to finishing as one of five Lakers to score in double figures. The first-year Laker also collected a couple of steals in his team-high 37 minutes and tied for the team lead in three-pointers. LaRavia scored in double figures for the sixth time in January and continues to have a really good stretch from a production standpoint. He’s rostered in only 21 percent of Yahoo! leagues, and could be a worthwhile roster addition for those managers looking for upside.

James scored 22 points on Monday but could end up sitting out against Atlanta. Rui Hachimura will be back, so if James is sidelined Jake LaRavia should remain in the starting lineup, though he only had two points in 31 minutes against the Kings.

Hachimura was absent from the Lakers’ injury report for Monday’s game, and he was in uniform. However, he saw no action. Jake LaRavia remained in the starting lineup, playing 31 minutes and finishing with two points (1-of-7 FGs), two rebounds, three assists and one steal. During his postgame press conference, Lakers head coach JJ Redick said that Hachimura did not play since he wasn’t available for both games of the back-to-back. He’ll play on Tuesday against the Hawks, albeit on a severe minutes restriction.

Hachimura is available after missing the last six games with a calf injury. Jake LaRavia may remain in the starting lineup for another game if the former is under a minutes restriction in his first game back. Managers in deep leagues should hold onto LaRavia until the dust settles on the Lakers’ rotation.

With Rui Hachimura (calf) once again unavailable, LaRavia was in the Lakers’ starting lineup for the sixth consecutive game. While the final stat line on Friday was modest, the forward was a blocked shot shy of a complete stat line. Since moving into the starting five, LaRavia has been close to a top-50 player in eight-cat formats. As long as Hachimura is unavailable, LaRavia is worth the streaming risk.

Hachimura has been sidelined for the Lakers’ last five games but had a chance to return for this one. However, he’ll remain out, which means Jake LaRavia will remain a starter for at least one more game, where he has been worth streaming.

Hachimura has missed the Lakers’ last five games with a strained right calf, and a return to action may not be far away. If he’s able to play on Friday, Jake LaRavia will be the player most affected. While LaRavia’s minutes would decrease, he may be worth holding onto in deep leagues to account for a potential minutes restriction for Hachimura.