Lakers Practice Report: Expect A New Wesley Johnson

Serena Winters
2 Min Read

The Los Angeles Lakers are listing forward Ryan Kelly as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, after missing two consecutive days of practice. Kelly experienced hamstring tightness during the Lakers game on Tuesday and is erring on the side of caution.

Lakers guard Nick Young was in good spirits and walking around without a cast for the second consecutive day on Friday, though he’s still a few weeks away from a return.

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Wesley Johnson, who hasn’t yet tapped into his true potential, was a hot topic of conversation at Lakers practice:

He hasn’t really scratched the surface on how good he can be as a basketball player on both ends of the floor,” Scott said Friday.

Johnson says Kobe Bryant’s been telling him to play like his family depends on it. Johnson says he’s ready for the challenge and knows his teammates and coaches are behind him, even declaring that we’ll see a more “wild” side out on the court. Scott’s been waiting to see an assertive and aggressive side of Johnson.

He’s got the green light. He can’t worry about me taking him out cause I’m not going to take him out for taking a bad shot or making a mistake offensively. Now I’ll take him out for making a mistake defensively, but not on the offensive end,” Scott said of Johnson after practice. “I know he can be better and that’s what I’m kinda pushing for.”

Wes Johnson vowed that we’ll see a different Wesley Johnson in the Lakers next game against the Charlotte Hornets Sunday. The Lakers have another day of practice before Johnson gets another chance to prove himself.

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Lakers Practice: Byron Scott

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Serena Winters was a former reporter for LakersNation.com who also oversaw the video team. You can now find her on NBC Sports Northwest as host of The Bridge. But really, she's probably more known for bringing snacks with her wherever she goes. UCSB alum, Muay Thai lover, foodie (all of it). Email: serenawintersinfo@gmail.com