The Los Angeles Lakers put out their injury report for Wednesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets and point guard Russell Westbrook is listed as doubtful with left hamstring soreness.
With the doubtful tag, Westbrook is likely to miss his first game of the season for the Lakers. In three games so far, Westbrook has really struggled offensively, averaging 10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting 28.9% from the field and 8.3% from 3. He has been solid defensively, however, averaging 2.0 steals.
The hamstring issue is not new as Westbrook first suffered it in the preseason finale, attributing it to coming off the bench for the first time since his rookie season.
“Absolutely,” Westbrook said at the time when asked about the role change. “I’ve been doing the same thing for 14 years straight. Honestly, I didn’t even know what to do pregame. Being honest, I was trying to figure out how to stay warm and loose. For me, obviously the way I play the game, it’s fast-paced, quick, stop-and-go. And I just happened to, when I subbed in, I felt something. Thought it was… didn’t know what it was, but I wasn’t going to risk it in a preseason game. But definitely wasn’t something I was used to. Wasn’t warm enough. But that’s something I just wasn’t accustomed to.”
When the regular season started, Westbrook was inserted back into the starting lineup and the hamstring had not given him any issues until now. The Lakers begin a two-game road trip on Wednesday against the Nuggets before then taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. The team said Westbrook will accompany them on tha6 road trip, which means he may be ready to play in the second game.
In Westbrook’s absence, Troy Brown Jr. is a candidate to join the starting lineup to give the Lakers more size on the wing. L.A. could also decide to go big with Damian Jones alongside Anthony Davis in the frontcourt considering they are facing Nikola Jokic and Rudy Gobert the next two games.
Rest of Lakers injury report
The rest of the Lakers’ injury report includes LeBron James (left foot soreness) and Anthony Davis (left foot soreness), although they are both listed as probable and likely to play.
Thomas Bryant and Dennis Schroder remain out with their respective thumb injuries while two-way players Scotty Pippen Jr. and Cole Swider are not traveling with the team, staying back to practice with the South Bay Lakers.
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