NBA

Lakers Expect Dennis Schroder and Thomas Bryant To Play On Friday

Dennis Schroder

The LA Lakers got a much needed win on Saturday night vs the Brooklyn Nets, 116-103. Despite the win, the team is still 3-10 on the season and are last place in the Pacific Division. LA still waits for their full compliment of players while injuries are still lingering around the team. Rookie head coach Darvin Ham made a smart decision by having Russell Westbrook come off the bench for the Lakers so that he can lead the second unit. 

Just this morning reports came out that the Lakers may be getting some much needed reinforcements backs by the end of this week. Both Dennis Schroder and Thomas Bryant were each battling back from respective thumb surgeries and are expected to make a return on Friday night vs the Pistons. The Lakers have been shuffling around starting lineups all season so far and haven’t had much consistency with that.

NBA betting sites have the Lakers at (+7500) to win the Finals.

Dennis Schroder and Thomas Bryant expected to return to Lakers for Friday’s game

Getting Schroder and Bryant back could help the Lakers out tremendously. Schroder averages (14.2) points and (4.7) assists per game for his career and the Lakers could use that production in the starting lineup or even coming off the bench. Last Friday, he was seen in pregame warmups taking shots and didn’t show any signs of the thumb bothering him.

Bryant could also be another solid addition back to the Lakers. He is a physical presence on the boards. Anthony Davis has been forced to play a lot at center for the Lakers and that’s hurt the team at times. AD is more effective from the PF position where he can take advantage of smaller players and use his shooting to his advantage. Bryant is now in his second stint with the Lakers. He played for the team in the 2017-18 season and played for Washington from 2018-21. The Lakers have been playing a lot of forwards to try and replace their deficiencies down low.