While the Los Angeles Lakers came away with an impressive blowout win over the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day, Oracle Arena has been something of a house of horrors for the team.
LeBron James suffered his strained groin in the impressive victory and proceeded to miss nearly six weeks, and Rajon Rondo suffered a sprained finger that same night which required surgery. The Lakers were back up north on Saturday night, and received news James was a late scratch.
He logged 40 minutes in his return against the Clippers, and was given a night off because of lingering soreness. The Lakers erased a 14-point deficit, pulled ahead by 10 in the third quarter, but couldn’t hold off a Warriors comeback.
Aside from the loss, the Lakers are now dealing with an injury concern yet again as Ivica Zubac was taken for X-rays, with an MRI coming Sunday, per Tania Ganguli of the L.A. Times
Ivica Zubac got x-rays on his left middle finger. They were inconclusive. He’s getting an MRI tomorrow.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) February 3, 2019
Zubac had 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots in 26 minutes. His slam dunk in the third quarter gave the Lakers their first lead of the night. Though, the young center also struggled on multiple defensive possessions throughout the night.
If Zubac is to miss any time, the Lakers presumably will call on Tyson Chandler to again back up JaVale McGee. Head coach Luke Walton recently outlined a rough plan to manage Chandler’s minutes moving forward, and he too was given a night of rest against the Warriors.
An injury to Zubac could also have implications on an potential Anthony Davis trade, as he’s been among the players linked to speculation.
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