Just as the Lakers got Luka Dončić and Marcus Smart back, they are now dealing with another new injury. Deandre Ayton didn’t play during the second half of LA’s win over Memphis after tweaking his back in the first half on an alley-oop play.

The potentially good news is that Ayton is optimistic that he will be available on Sunday against the Heat.

DeAndre Ayton started on Friday against the Grizzlies in NBA Cup action, but did not return to the bench for the third quarter. With Ayton out, Jaxson Hayes took his place in the starting lineup.

Ayton did return to the bench in the fourth quarter and was available to play. But the Lakers were ahead, and he never stepped back onto the floor. After the win, head coach JJ Redick mentioned that he did not want to push Ayton by putting him back in

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