Injuries Are Derailing the Los Angeles Lakers’ Hot Start

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers stunned the Golden State Warriors in early November with a 117-97 victory.

The Warriors exacted revenge in a pair of games sandwiching the Thanksgiving holiday, demolishing the Lakers 149-106 on Wednesday in Oakland before a 109-85 win on Friday at Staples Center.

“It looked like a Thanksgiving food hangover,” head coach Luke Walton said. “I thought our guys played hard, we just didn’t play hard and smart tonight.”

The Lakers had opened the season in impressive fashion, winning seven of their first 12 before facing a new foe: injuries.

Second-year guard D’Angelo Russell sat out last week’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs with a sore knee. He returned for one game, another defeat at home to the Chicago Bulls, but the injury continued to linger.

On Wednesday, Russell underwent a platelet-rich plasma injection, which intentionally creates inflammation, inspiring Russell’s own immune system to heal the joint. Recovery will sideline the Lakers’ starting point guard for at least two weeks, per the Lakers.

Meanwhile, power forward Julius Randle, who has arguably been the Lakers’ most valuable player through the first month of the season, suffered a hip pointer. Like Russell, he missed both games against the Warriors.

“I was hoping [Randle] was going to play tonight. I’m not really familiar with the timetable on a hip pointer. I think it’s different for everybody,” Walton said before the Lakers’ loss on Friday.

“This morning, he said he was going to try to shoot around,” Walton continued. “He started getting up and down, and he was in pain, so it didn’t make sense to try and force it.”

Randle wasn’t quite himself in the Lakers’ win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, scoring just three points in 20 minutes.

With Russell out and Randle hobbled, the Lakers survived the Thunder by a Nick Young three-pointer with five seconds left on the clock. Young has provided an unexpected scoring punch for the Lakers this season, but he didn’t leave the game unscathed.

“He sprained [his toe] in the Oklahoma City game and I don’t think he even realized he sprained it, obviously with the adrenalin and everything,” Walton said. “He didn’t say anything until the next day. He woke up; he complained about it hurting and obviously, he wasn’t the same in Golden State. He said every time he cut and changed direction, he was in a lot of pain.”

Young scored just eight points during the blowout. The Lakers sat him during Friday’s rematch, leaving the team without 60 percent of its regular starting lineup.

“Nick and Julius bring probably more energy to the team than anyone else that we have, just by the way they play,” Walton said. “Obviously, D’Angelo having the season that he is [having], it was just too tough for us tonight.”

It’s not surprising the Lakers have lost four of their last five games; injuries have started to scuttle a very promising start to the season.

“It’s hard. It’s hard losing big pieces of our team,” Jordan Clarkson said, who made his first start of the season on Friday. “We need a team to beat anybody in this league. With everybody back, we’re a complete team.”

Jose Calderon and rookie Brandon Ingram joined Clarkson in the starting lineup, in turn weakening the Lakers’ bench, which has arguably been the best reserve unit in the league.

While L.A. has struggled over recent games, morale remains high.

“We feel good,” Tarik Black said. “[It’s] awesome having a coach like Coach Luke, who just uplifts us and makes us feel like we can conquer the world. With guys missing, we still feel like we need to come out and perform.”

Walton said he hopes to have both Randle and Young in the lineup on Sunday when the Lakers host the Atlanta Hawks—although neither is certain to play.

“There’s always something good you can take from situations. But overall, it’s pretty frustrating being in this process and not having …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com