Even though the Los Angeles Lakers have been much improved since the All-Star break, the team is beginning to be ravaged by injuries. Brandon Ingram has been dealing with a strained groin, Kyle Kuzma recently sprained his ankle, and Josh Hart is recovering from hand surgery.
Hart is still at least two weeks from returning, but there’s some hope Ingram and Kuzma will be back on the court sooner rather than later. With both out on Wednesday, the Lakers had to dig deep into their rotation, playing the likes of Travis Wear and Derrick Williams as their wing rotation remains depleted.
With Friday night’s game against the Miami Heat up next, it was reported by Mike Trudell that Ingram will once again be out with his groin strain, but will be re-evaluated beforehand:
Brandon Ingram is out for tomorrow night’s game against Miami. The team didn’t practice today and will have shootaround prior to the game, when Ingram will be re-evaluated by the medical staff.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 15, 2018
Additionally, Kuzma is listed as questionable for that contest with the sprained ankle, via Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet:
Kyle Kuzma (sprained ankle) is questionable for tomorrow’s game vs. Miami.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) March 15, 2018
The Lakers are likely being cautious with Ingram as the team has very slim hopes for the playoffs and making sure he is completely healthy is the most important thing. Ingram has been excellent in his second season and was making some huge strides before this recent setback.
Kuzma’s injury is far less serious, but the Lakers being without both is difficult as they are two of the team’s best individual scorers. After Friday’s game the Lakers won’t play again until Monday, so both could very well return then.
If Kuzma winds up missing a second straight game the Lakers will likely keep their starting lineup and be reliant on Williams and Wear off the bench, as well as Tyler Ennis since Alex Caruso has reached his allotted time with the main team as a two-way contract player.
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