Lakers may get key pieces back for matchup vs. Bulls

The injury-ridden Los Angeles Lakers will look to get back to their winning ways against the visiting Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.

The Lakers have lost five of their last eight games since March 8, when LeBron James suffered a groin injury that has kept him out since. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have been dealing with nagging ankle injuries that held the duo out of Thursday's 118-89 home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Los Angeles has also been without starting forward Rui Hachimura for the last 12 games due to left patellar tendinopathy in his knee.

The lone bright spot for the Lakers (43-26) on Thursday was the performance of rookie Bronny James. The younger James scored a career-high 17 points off the bench on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, matching Dalton Knecht's team high. Besides Knecht and James, journeyman center Alex Len (10 points) was the only other Laker to reach double figures.

Reaves and Doncic are listed as probable for Saturday's game. The elder James' return is imminent, as the 40-year-old has begun ramping up his on-the-court work in recent days. While James' status remains in question, a return Saturday hasn't been ruled out. The same is true for Hachimura.

"I think everybody is day-to-day, including LeBron and Rui," Lakers coach JJ Redick said. "We knew post-All-Star break that this first three, four weeks was going to be tough. It's not getting any easier. This has been a very difficult stretch just in terms of the schedule and our guys have competed and played through a lot of stuff. That's just the reality of where we're at today. We've gotta continue to manage this stretch."

Chicago (30-40) doesn't have the same championship aspirations as this current iteration of the Lakers, but the Bulls have been the better team across their last eight games. Coach Billy Donovan's group has gone 6-2 in that stretch to fight firmly back into the Eastern Conference play-in picture.

The Bulls are coming off a 128-116 win over the host Kings on Thursday, led by 35 points from Coby White on 10-of-18 shooting from the field. Kevin Huerter added 25 points for the Bulls in his first game back in Sacramento after the Kings dealt him to Chicago as part of the three-team deal that sent DeAaron Fox to San Antonio. The matchup also marked Zach LaVine's first game against the Bulls since the deal.

"I'm happy for (Huerter)," Donovan said. "He's a very good player. I think emotionally it's always tough, going back to a place. I'm sure it was tough for Zach tonight. Demar (DeRozan) did it coming to Chicago one time. Those guys put their feet into a place and they give you everything they have. When you move to the next place, it's always a little bit emotional. Obviously (Huerter) came up big tonight and made some big threes when they were gaining momentum."

White is the leading scorer remaining with Chicago following that trade, which saw the Bulls send LaVine to Sacramento in return for Huerter, Zach Collins, Tre Jones and the 2025 first-round pick that Chicago still owed the Spurs from the DeRozan deal four years prior. White, a sixth-year point guard, is averaging a career-high 19.8 points per game this season. Nikola Vucevic is the team's most valuable player, averaging 18.7 points and a team-high 10.1 rebounds per game.

-Field Level Media