The Los Angeles Lakers suffered their fourth straight loss on Sunday night against the Detroit Pistons. More important than the game loss however, is the potential loss of two rotation players.
Both Jordan Clarkson and Tarik Black suffered sprained ankles in the game and according to Tania Ganguli of the LA Times, both are being listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets:
The Lakers listed both Jordan Clarkson and Tarik Black as questionable on their injury report. Both sprained an ankle yesterday.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) January 16, 2017
Neither injury seems to be all that serious as Clarkson continually noted that he was fine after the game despite some concerns. Likewise, head coach Luke Walton said that Black told him he was fine after the game as well which is all good news for the Lakers.
Injuries have not been kind to this team all year as nearly every rotation player has missed some games thanks to injury. The team is mostly healthy now with the exception of Larry Nance Jr. who is still recovering from a bone bruise in his knee.
Rookie Ivica Zubac saw some minutes in place of Black on Sunday night and took advantage of his opportunity with a solid performance. In fact, Walton has said Zubac has earned some playing time so if Black can’t go look for Zubac to step in.
If Clarkson is unable to play it would likely free up some time for veteran Jose Calderon who has played well when given the opportunity this season.