Gabe Vincent is listed, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as questionable for the Los Angeles Lakers’ matchup with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday at the Barclays Center.
Vincent has appeared in five games for the Lakers this season. He suffered a bone bruise after four games in October, then gave it a go on Dec. 20. His left knee swelled up after that game and he underwent surgery one week later.
“I really don’t even want to get into it too much, don’t want to put too much pressure on him,” LeBron said after the Lakers’ 109-90 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. “When he’s ready to go, it will be a bonus for our team. But he’s been out for quite a while. So whenever he’s ready, we’ll welcome him with open arms as a brother of ours, teammate of ours.”
Vincent, 27, has missed the last 46 games.
“We’ve been waiting on him, but at the end of the day, we put no pressure on him,” added LeBron. “Just take his time.”
In his five appearances for the Lakers, the ex-UCSB Gaucho averaged 5.4 points and 3.0 assists in 25.4 minutes — including closing minutes.
In the two prior seasons, Vincent put up 9.1 points on 35.1% 3-point shooting for the Miami Heat. He played his best basketball as a starting guard en route to the 2023 NBA Finals, averaging 12.7 points, 3.5 assists, shooting 37.8% from 3, and providing key point-of-attack defense across 22 games.
Elsewhere on the Lakers’ injury front, Jarred Vanderbilt is reportedly expected to return from a foot sprain in April. LeBron is managing daily ankle soreness. Anthony Davis is dealing with a hyperextended knee.
“It’ll get better in a couple days,” Davis said after playing 38 minutes against the Pacers on Friday. “Nothing serious. That’s why I played tonight. Feel like I can play through it. It’s nothing that I plan to miss any more games for or have to be on a minute restriction or thing of that nature.”
The Lakers (41-33) sit as the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference — 1.5 games in between the Phoenix Suns (43-31) and the Golden State Warriors (39-34).