The hits just keep coming for the Los Angeles Lakers. Nick Young, D’Angelo Russell, and Larry Nance Jr. are all out due to injury, and now veteran guard Jose Calderon is being added to the list. According to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times, Calderon strained his hamstring in the first quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies and will miss the remainder of the game:
Jose Calderon has a right hamstring strain and will not return.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) December 4, 2016
Calderon’s injury is yet another in a plague that appears to have hit the Lakers. Coach Luke Walton has done everything he can to try to keep the bench unit of Lou Williams, Brandon Ingram, Jordan Clarkson, Nance, and Tarik Black together, but he’s quickly running out of players to put into his starting five. He already had to relent somewhat and use Ingram as the starting shooting guard, although he was able to tweak his rotation enough to allow the highest-scoring bench in the league plenty of time on the court together.
Calderon, the 35-year-old veteran, came to Los Angeles via a trade with the Chicago Bulls last summer. He had only been with the Bulls for a few weeks after being involved in the Derek Rose trade with the New York Knicks, and he was relieved to find himself in a situation where he wouldn’t have to play starters minutes anymore as he did in New York.
However, an injury to D’Angelo Russell forced Calderon, who had been essentially out of the rotation, into action. It’s not clear how long a hamstring strain will sideline Calderon, but it can be a tricky one that has to be allowed to heal properly. Jeremy Lin of the Brooklyn Nets has been out for the past month with a hamstring issue of his own despite an initial report suggesting he would only miss a few weeks, so it’s anyone’s guess how long Calderon will actually be out.