No Back Surgery Necessary For Jordan Hill

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

The hoops gods can be cruel. On the same day I sung the praises and importance of Jordan Hill to the Lakers’ title chances he was diagnosed with a herniated disk…gulp.

If that sounds familiar it’s because that is the same injury that has kept Dwight Howard out of action for the last half year.

But that was so yesterday. Today Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Hill’s back injury, unlike Howard’s, will not require surgery.

We can all exhale.

Instead Hill will rehab the herniated disk for the next couple of weeks in hopes he’ll be good to go for the season opener. Let’s hope that is the case. Even if the worst case scenario is Hill sitting out the first week or even month of the regular season that will be a welcome relief.

Hill, as explained yesterday, is a vital cog in this championship machine. Without an effective big behind both Howard and Pau Gasol the Lake Show will be stretched thin once again.