Injury Update

none

lalnkioski

Lakers two-way center Colin Castleton has a right wrist fracture and  will be out for at least two weeks before he’s re-evaluated.

colin-castleton-injury-update-022624

Colin Castleton Injury Update

lalswong

EL SEGUNDO – Los Angeles Lakers guard Josh Hart received a PRP injection to treat tendinitis in his right knee today, it was announced by the team. Hart will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break.

josh-hart-medical-update-2

Josh Hart Medical Update

EL SEGUNDO – Lakers guard Lonzo Ball, who was injured in last night’s game at Houston, underwent an MRI which revealed a Grade 3 left ankle sprain. Ball is expected to miss 4-6 weeks and updates will be provided as appropriate.

lonzo-ball-medical-update-3

Lonzo Ball Medical Update

EL SEGUNDO – LeBron James was evaluated by team medical staff and physicians today. The healing of James’ groin injury is progressing and James has been cleared to increase on-court functional basketball movements. A further update will be provided on January 16.

lebron-james-medical-update-4

LeBron James Medical Update

EL SEGUNDO – The Los Angeles Lakers have assigned guard Rajon Rondo to the South Bay Lakers on rehab assignment, it was announced today.

Rondo appeared in 11 games this season before suffering a right hand injury on November 14 vs. Portland, averaging 8.5 points, 6.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 25.2 minutes a game.

rajon-rondo-assigned-to-south-bay-lakers-on-rehab-assignment

Rajon Rondo Assigned to South Bay Lakers on Rehab Assignment

Mike Trudell

When Brandon Ingram and Rajon Rondo missed three games due to a suspension in late October, the Lakers went 2-1, while Rondo returned for a loss at San Antonio on Oct. 29 that served as the fourth game of Ingram’s suspension.

And with Ingram (sprained left ankle) and Rondo (broken right hand) both out of the last three games, L.A. have gone 2-1 once again.

After Wednesday’s practice at the UCLA Health Center, and just before the team took off on a flight to Houston for the first of a four-game road trip, Luke Walton said that Ingram won’t be on the trip … at least to start.

“B.I. is not coming, no,” said Walton. “He’ll be re-evaluated on Saturday, so we’re not going to travel him with the swelling and what not.”

When asked if Ingram could possibly join the team on the trip – L.A. is at Washington on Sunday and at Brooklyn on Tuesday – at some point, Walton said the team would make that decision after the evaluation on Saturday.

“A lot of that is up to the medical staff,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Rajon Rondo is set to meet with the hand specialist with whom he’s been working on Thursday.

“We’ll go from there depending on what (the doctor) says,” he said. “If it’s a good appointment and he’s cleared to start doing stuff again, then there’s a chance he meets us out on the road.”

Rondo fractured the third metacarpal on his right hand against Portland on Nov. 14, and was given a 4-5 week timeline on Nov. 15, when he had successful surgery to repair the fracture.

Walton has had his team ready to play despite the injuries to two key rotation players, as the Lakers have won 6 of 7 games since a 117-85 loss at Denver on Nov. 27 in which Lonzo Ball wasn’t able to play in the second half due to a sprained ankle.

They’re a season best seven games over .500 at 17-10, good for the No. 4 spot of the Western Conference, just 1.5 games back of first. L.A. is 11-4 at home and 6-6 on the road, as well as 12-7 in the West and 3-0 in the Pacific Division.

“I felt our team moving in the right direction before that (loss at Denver),” said Walton.

To his point, L.A. is 15-5 since starting the season 2-5, and Walton and his coaching staff deserve credit for pushing the defensive improvement that has the team ranked 9th on the season (106.3) when they were just 21st after nine games. Since that 9th game on Nov. 3 at Portland (a 114-110 win), L.A. rank 4th in the NBA in defensive efficiency (103.7)

“They’re taking ownership in what we do,” he said. “It’s up to the players to really step up and get that done, and I think they do that.”

As the pace has slowed a bit – they still rank 4th on the season (103.82) – the offensive efficiency has dipped as well from early in the season when they were flying up and down the court. They’re still, if narrowly, in the top half of the league in offense (14th) and rank 9th in net rating (2.3).

Having LeBron James on the court in crunch time, and the improved all-around play of Kyle Kuzma have been keys, but in short, L.A. are finding ways to win.

“Every season takes on its own life, its own form,” Walton concluded. “What you think is going to happen never happens. Groups change, and that’s where we’re at now. There will be more changes before the end of the season … that’s why we’re always open and looking for different ways for our team to succeed, and we’ll continue to find those.”

Thursday’s game against Houston is the first meeting since the 2nd game of the season, from which Ingram and Rondo – as well as Chris Paul – drew their suspensions, but only CP3 will be on the court.

ingram-rondo-remain-out-as-resurgent-lakers-begin-4-game-trip

Ingram, Rondo Remain Out as Resurgent Lakers Begin 4-Game Trip

After an offseason rise that included being named Summer League MVP, Josh Hart worked his way into the starting lineup for two preseason games and had the Lakers quite excited about his sophomore campaign.

On Monday morning, there was at least temporary pause when Hart tweaked his hamstring early in practice and headed to the locker room. However, it seems to have truly been a tweak.

Luke Walton relayed after Tuesday’s practice that Hart appears to be OK.

“He’s good,” said the coach. “He wanted to practice today, but it was tight still, so I told him to just sit out and watch, make sure that he stays healthy. He’s very important to what we do, so we want to start the season as healthy as can be, so it was more just being safe today and not letting him go.”

Hart is officially listed as questionable for Wednesday evening’s game in Las Vegas against Golden State, but Lakers players typically haven’t played in games the day after missing practices with injuries.

In starts against Denver and Sacramento last week, Hart averaged 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in about 30 minutes per game. That’s in line with his averages in 23 starts as a rookie, when he posted 13.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 31.9 minutes per game. While his scoring – particularly on straight line drives to the rim capped by strong finishes as well as 3-pointers –rebounding and defensive effort are there every night, Walton loves his intangibles the most.

“He was very important to our team last year and he’s continued to get better ever since we had him,” said Walton. “The way he works, what he does so well are the little things. The little things that help teams win that a lot of times don’t go down on stat sheets, those are the things that in my opinion make Josh special.”

The next and final preseason game for L.A. comes on Friday evening in San Jose, also against the Warriors. The first regular season game is on Oct. 18 at Portland.

If Hart doesn’t play on Wednesday or Friday, he’d have nine full days between Monday’s practice on Oct. 8 and the season opener to get ready to roll.

As his coach said, the Lakers need as much Hart as they can get.

walton-harts-hamstring-good

Walton: Hart's Hamstring "Good"

admin

EL SEGUNDO – Lakers guard Lonzo Ball had successful arthroscopic surgery to his left knee today.

Ball is expected to make a full recovery by the start of the 2018-19 training camp.