Lakers Injury Report: Rajon Rondo Out With Sprained Ring Finger, JaVale McGee Questionable Against Kings

Dan Duangdao
3 Min Read
Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Through 34 games of the 2018-19 NBA season, head coach Luke Walton and the Los Angeles Lakers have heavily relied on their depth due to numerous injuries.

As the Lakers have remained afloat with a 20-14 record in the competitive Western Conference, LeBron James suffered a left groin strain against the Golden State Warriors on Christmas and is officially listed as day-to-day.

While it is unclear how many games James will miss, Josh Hart believes he and the young core can ‘hold our own’ in his absence.

Already without the best player in the league today, Hart and the Lakers will also be without Rajon Rondo against the Sacramento Kings, according to Mike Trudell:

In addition, JaVale McGee is listed as questionable after missing the last five games due to pneumonia, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports:

After leading the Lakers to an impressive Christmas Day win, this is unfortunate news for Rondo as he recently returned from hand surgery that cost him 17 games.

As for McGee, Ivica Zubac has been a pleasant surprise in his absence, averaging 17.7 points and 8.7 rebounds in three starts.

Without potentially three of their most productive veterans, Walton will rely on the young core. Since all of the attention has been on James, this gives them an opportunity to showcase the talent and competitiveness that helped them earn 35 wins during the 2017-18 season, which was the most since the Kobe Bryant-Dwight Howard era.

Reminder: Vivid Seats is the Official Ticket Reseller of LakersNation.com. New Customers use “LAKERSNATION” (all CAPS) in the Vivid Seats App on your phone and get 10% off any Lakers home game ticket order for the remainder of the season.

Follow:
Dan Duangdao was the managing editor at Lakers Nation (2013-16, 2018-20). He is currently the founder at LA Sports Media, Lake Show, Raiders Nation, Rams Nation, Kings Nation, Galaxy Nation, and MMA Rumors. Born and raised in Southern California and a lifelong Los Angeles sports and mixed martial arts fan, his first NBA game was Kobe Bryant and the Lakers against the Golden State Warriors with Michael Jordan in attendance during the 1998-99 NBA season. He was previously a contributor at HOOPSWORLD (now Basketball Insiders) and an NBA editor at ClutchPoints. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @DanDuangdao.