During the loss to the Indiana Pacers earlier this week, center Timofey Mozgov was roughed up on more than one occasion. Mozgov required stitches in his mouth after being elbowed in that area and then not long after, suffered an eye contusion.
As a result of his eye injury, Mozgov missed Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks. Now that the four-game road trip has come to an end, the veteran center was re-evaluated in Los Angeles.
Fortunately for the Lakers, Mozgov’s test came back negative with no fracture or concussion found. Although Mozgov received positive results after being re-evaluated, the 30-year-old is listed as doubtful for Friday’s game against the visiting Golden State Warriors, via Lakers.com:
Los Angeles Lakers center Timofey Mozgov, who suffered a left eye injury in Tuesday night’s game in Indiana and sat out last night’s game in Atlanta, was examined by team doctors in Los Angeles this morning. Tests were negative for any fracture and also negative for a concussion. Mozgov’s diagnosis is a soft tissue contusion around his left eye, and he will be evaluated daily. His status for tomorrow night’s game against the Golden State Warriors is doubtful.
The Lakers are coming off an impressive win against the Hawks without Mozgov patrolling the paint. Mozgov’s presence was sorely missed as former Laker Dwight Howard scored a game-high 31 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
On Friday, the Lakers will look to make it two straight wins as they face off against Luke Walton’s former team. If Mozgov can’t go against the Warriors, the Lakers may turn to rookie Ivica Zubac once again or start Tarik Black at center.
