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)
Walton credited the players.
“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.