The mood was noticeably somber after Lakers practice on Monday with the news that Xavier Henry suffered a serious Achilles injury.
During what Lakers head coach Byron Scott described as a 3-on-3 drill, Henry went down with what the Lakers believe to be an Achilles rupture and is currently undergoing an MRI to confirm.
Ed Davis (ankle) and Carlos Boozer (sore shoulder) both sat out of Monday’s practice. Boozer is currently listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game with Davis deemed probable. Scott wasn’t prepared to think about who would fill their slots if neither were available for the Lakers next game against Memphis.
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Scott said he wanted Kobe Bryant to rest his legs, so Kobe stuck to mostly shooting in Monday’s practice. Scott expects the same plan for Bryant tomorrow as he’s hoping for Bryant to regain some of his leg strength (Bryant was short on the majority of his missed shots against the Denver Nuggets). In terms of managing Bryant’s minutes, Scott says he plans to keep him in the “30 to 40 minute range,” but he is prompted to give him more time to rest during practice days.
Lakers point guard Jeremy Lin says this isn’t the first time he’s experienced a situation like he’s currently in, specifically pointing to his freshmen and sophomore seasons at Harvard.
Lin also said that adjusting to off-the-ball scenarios hasn’t been too much different from his role in Houston when playing alongside James Harden. Scott said Lin needs to continue to develop the mentality of searching for his teammates, which he thought he did a good job of in the second half of last night’s overtime loss:
Really make quick decisions, move the ball. If you got a shot, take your shot. If you got a drive, take your drive,” Scott said about the role he wants Lin to play. “First half was a little bit more trying to search for me, second half was searching for his teammates.”
The Lakers will return to practice on Tuesday in preparation for their next home game on Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies.
[divide]Byron Scott Talks About Plan For Kobe Bryant In Terms Of Practice/Managing Minutes
