The 11-4 Los Angeles Lakers will be looking to extend their winning streak to four when they take on the 5-10 Utah Jazz at the Delta Center on Sunday. There appeared to be a chance that the Lakers would be without Deandre Ayton for the rematch with the Jazz due to illness, but the injury report is now out, and he’s not on it.
The Lakers have only listed Bronny James (G League Assignment) and Adou Thiero (G League Assignment) as out. They expect to have a clean bill of health for the contest.
Ayton has averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2025-26. The 27-year-old being available is a big boost for head coach JJ Redick.
The Lakers had to deal with an injury crisis at the start of the season, with as many as seven players out for a game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 27. They managed to navigate through that difficult stretch well and are now in a position to continue to climb up the standings.
As for the two players missing against the Jazz, we saw James and Thiero make their season debuts for the South Bay Lakers on Friday. They helped the Lakers’ G League affiliate come away with a dominant 115-95 win against the Santa Cruz Warriors at the UCLA Health Training Center.
James had 15 points (5-10 FG), four rebounds, eight assists, and three steals against Santa Cruz. As for Thiero, he put up 19 points (5-9 FG), four rebounds, one assist, and three steals.
With the Lakers being healthy, James and Thiero were going to find playing time hard to come by. It seems likely they’ll keep playing for South Bay as long as the injury bug stays away.
The Lakers have also had a nice little four-day break ahead of this upcoming contest, as they defeated the Jazz 140-126 in their last game on Tuesday. LeBron James made his season debut in that one, finishing with 11 points (4-7 FG), three rebounds, 12 assists, and one steal. The 40-year-old had missed the first 14 games of the campaign due to sciatica, and he makes this team all the more formidable.
The Lakers should ultimately prove to be too much to handle for the Jazz once again. As for the hosts, they will be without five players for the rematch.
The Jazz have listed Elijah Harkless (G League – Two Way), Walker Kessler (Left Shoulder Injury Recovery), Georges Niang (Left Foot, Fourth Metatarsal Stress Reaction), John Tonje (G League – Two Way), and Oscar Tshiebwe (G League – Two Way) as out.
