The Los Angeles Lakers have dealt with a ton of injuries this season, some major and others minor. One currently affecting the team is the knee tendinitis bothering second-year guard Josh Hart.
Hart has dealt with sporadic knee issue since his college days, but says it normally dies down after a couple of weeks. This current flareup is affecting Hart to the point that he hasn’t been practicing the last couple of days, even though he continues to play in games.
Hart believes he knows why the tendinitis has popped up, pointing to an offseason in which he didn’t rest his body as much as he probably should have, according to Tania Ganguli of the L.A. Times:
“I think it was just everything this summer,” Hart said. “Didn’t really take too much time off this summer — did summer league and I took like a week off and I was right back in the gym — so I didn’t really let my body rest too much during the summer when you’re supposed to let your body rest. So I think all that is kind of coming in to bite me … right now.”
Hart hasn’t quite looked like himself over the past few games and even his minutes have gone down. Over the last four contests, Hart is averaging just 5.8 points on 40.9 percent shooting in 21 minutes per game.
He asked to come out during the second half against the Phoenix Suns, and endured a rough night two days later. Though, Hart refused to blame his struggles on the knee issues.
This shows how important rest is in the summer. Of course players want to work as hard as possible to improve their game, but it’s just as important to not overwork your body so it can get through the grind of an NBA season. Hart is paying the price now.
Thankfully, the All-Star break is upcoming which will give Hart some time to rest and hopefully allow the tendinitis to go down. The Lakers will need his defense and shooting for this stretch run as they push for the playoffs.
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