UPDATE (Jan. 11, 10:15 p.m. PT): The Los Angeles Lakers announced X-rays on Michael Beasley’s right hand came back negative.
The Los Angeles Lakers were derailed in their efforts to develop chemistry with a new roster through the first half of the season and that’s carried over since they’ve surpassed the midway point in terms of games played.
Brandon Ingram and Rajon Rondo were lost early on to suspensions that were a result of their involvement in an altercation with Chris Paul and the Houston Rockets. Rondo later suffered a fracture in his right hand that required surgery and a five-week recovery.
He played in all of three games before undergoing a second operation to repair a torn ligament in his sprained right right finger. Ingram missed time with a sprained left ankle, and LeBron James remained sidelined because of a strained groin suffered Christmas Day.
Additionally, Michael Beasley was granted permission to be away from the team so he could be with his ailing mother who passed away late last year. Beasley’s return was a welcomed boost as he’s provided a scoring punch off the bench.
But now he’s facing an injury concern after injuring his right hand in the fourth quarter of Friday’s loss to the Utah Jazz. Beasley is due to undergo X-rays to determine the extent of his injured hand, per Tania Ganguli of the L.A. Times:
Michael Beasley hurt his hand and will get x-rays, Luke Walton said.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) January 12, 2019
Beasley scored 17 points in 18 minutes, with the bulk of it coming in the third quarter when the Lakers began to mount a comeback. Beasley was part of a small-ball lineup that gave the Jazz trouble and forced them to take Rudy Gobert off the court.
Beasley was removed with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, walking off the court with his right shoulder dangling in ominous fashion. He immediately went to the locker room with Lakers head athletic trainer Marco Nuñez.
The 30-year-old has scored in double-digits in each of the past four games.
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