With 2:35 left in the fourth quarter of L.A.’s loss to Miami on Tuesday night, Jordan Hill left the game after hyperextending his left knee when he stepped on Heat center Hassan Whiteside’s foot.
On Wednesday morning, however, most of the pain Hill felt had subsided, and it was determined he did not need to get an MRI. He’s hoping to start Thursday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I feel good about it. … we’ll see how it is (Thursday) morning,” said Hill. “(Team doctors) said everything’s good, but they’ve seen the replay and how my leg was. They’re surprised nothing crazy happened.”
“He said he feels pretty good,” said head coach Byron Scott. “Says his knee is sore. We didn’t have to get an MRI on it this morning, so that’s a good sign. But we’ll see how he feels tomorrow and see if he can go through the walkthrough, and if not obviously he’ll be a game-time decision.”
Price Also Good to Go
Meanwhile, Ronnie Price tweaked an elbow in Tuesday’s game, but an MRI he underwent on Wednesday morning came back negative. He’s expected to start on Friday as well.
The Lakers have lost 138 games to injury this season, with Julius Randle and Steve Nash ruled out for the remainder of the season and Xavier Henry having been waived after suffering a season-ending Achilles tear.