Injuries have started to creep up on the Los Angeles Lakers as several players have been forced to miss time the past couple of weeks.
The biggest blow the Lakers suffered was Anthony Davis who is expected to miss at least a month with a foot injury. Aside from Davis, Los Angeles also was without LeBron James and Austin Reaves in what ended up being a blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns.
With the Lakers so shorthanded, head coach Darvin Ham was forced to rely on his younger players. One of those was Scotty Pippen Jr. whom the team called up from their G League affiliate the South Bay Lakers.
Pippen has been developing with South Bay over the course of the 2022-23 season and was recently named the G League’s player of the week, via the team’s Twitter account:
Player of the Week 🗣@spippenjr x #SBLakers pic.twitter.com/wMfjDRnl8V
— South Bay Lakers (@SouthBayLakers) December 20, 2022
The honor was for games played between Dec. 12 to Dec. 17. During that three-game span, Pippen averaged 26.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.3 steals. He shot 51 percent from the field and just under 43 percent from beyond the arc, leading South Bay to a perfect 3-0 record.
The undrafted guard has been having a strong year with the minor league squad, averaging 23.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.7 steals. He leads all reserves in total points scored, an encouraging sign for the Vanderbilt product.
Although there isn’t much of a role on the Lakers for Pippen, his scoring from all three levels on the court makes him an intriguing developmental piece for down the line. Los Angeles has eschewed young players in favor of veterans in recent years as they’ve continued to chase titles with James and Davis on the roster, but they’ll need to eventually think about the future at some point.
For now, Pippen will likely spend the rest of the year with South Bay and be occasionally called up when the main team needs fill ins. Pippen has yet to make his mark at the NBA level, but he’s certainly someone to keep an eye on going forward.
LeBron James says Lakers will try to hold down fort without Anthony Davis
Davis was having one of the best seasons of his career before going down with an injury. Unfortunately, his absence is going to be a major problem for the Lakers who are already up against it trying to get back in the playoff race.
However, James believes in the current group and said that he and the rest of the team will just have to do their best to hold things down until Davis is able to return.
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