Gabe Vincent out with left knee effusion, to be re-evaluated in two weeks

If you thought this season would be any different regarding injuries, early signs certainly indicate that will not be the case.

Late on Thursday night, the Lakers announced that Gabe Vincent would be out for at least two weeks with a left knee effusion. Vincent missed Wednesday’s game against the Clippers with the knee injury.

Prior to the win over the Clippers, head coach Darvin Ham spoke about Vincent’s status. After playing in Monday’s win over the Magic, Vincent experienced swelling in his knee, which led to his being ruled out.

“Something that happened after the last game,” Ham said. “Yesterday was a day off and just started to swell up on him a little bit he’s also being evaluated as we speak.”

That evaluation, clearly, turned out to be an unfavorable one for Vincent and the Lakers. Now, he joins a host of Lakers out and set to be re-evaluated.

Jalen Hood-Schifino will be re-evaluated at the end of this week after dealing with his knee injury. Jarred Vanderbilt will be re-evaluated next week for his left heel injury. Now, Vincent will be next in line with his knee injury.

This opens up the door for the likes of Max Christie and Cam Reddish to continue to get minutes. Both played in Wednesday’s victory with Reddish making a notable impact defensively.

If Hood-Schifino can get healthy and return quickly — two big ifs — then he perhaps could be in line for some playing time as well.

Ultimately, though, it means the Lakers are going to have to absorb these injuries early in the year. The good news is that the depth the team created this summer is paying immediate dividends as it will allow the Lakers to stay competitive while they look to get healthy.

But it leaves the Lakers pretty thin and in danger should anyone else suffer an injury. It also means the hope for LeBron James’ minutes to be down is likely going to be on hold for the opening month.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.