Injuries have hit the Lakers so hard that they only had nine players available for Saturday’s scrimmage, meaning one of the video coordinators had to fill in as the final body.
Lonzo Ball is out 4-6 weeks with an ankle sprain. Kyle Kuzma is questionable for Sunday’s game due to a nagging hip strain. Josh Hart is expected to play Sunday, but sat out practice because his knee was bothering him.
In fact, the only bit of relief came from LeBron James, who returned to contact practice, participating fully in the team’s defensive drills.
James wasn’t part of the scrimmage, but it was an important step for L.A.’s superstar as he recovers from a strained groin.
“It was the first time he’s been out there in the part of practice that involved that type of movement,” coach Luke Walton said. “He looked good. He’s still really good at basketball, in case you guys were wondering.”
Kuzma, meanwhile, was given the last two days off to heal his hip, which he hurt in Houston last Saturday. The sophomore has played in both of the Lakers’ games since, but hasn’t played like himself.
He has scored just 26 points combined in those post-Houston contests, shooting 11-of-30 and missing all nine of his 3-point attempts.
“He plays a lot of minutes and hits the ground a lot,” Walton said. “I think it’s just not healing as much as he’d like. … I told him if he’s moving like he did last game I don’t want him to play tomorrow.”
But Kuzma’s injury was far from the worst one suffered in Houston. Lonzo Ball had been playing some of the best basketball of his young career before turning his ankle too far against the Rockets.
Ball averaged 13.8 points, 7.7 assists and 7.0 rebounds in the six games before his injury.
“I’ve never broken a bone, but I thought that might have been it,” Ball said.
Instead it was an ankle sprain that had kept him on crutches until Friday. Moving forward, he said he will dedicate his time to his rehab procedure, filmwork and weightlifting.
“It’s bad timing,” Ball said. “Felt I was playing pretty good basketball, finding my rhythm. It happens. Fortunately I won’t have to miss the whole year. I’ll be back.”