The Los Angeles Lakers are preparing for the start of training camp, and head coach Luke Walton recently gave a brief injury update.
With training camp right around the corner, there is a lot of excitement surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers. After a nice offseason, the Lakers have an improved roster on paper, and fans are eager to see the how some of their young players are developing.
Even though the Lakers are playing in a very difficult Western Conference, the hope is that they can compete with some of the elite teams starting this year. While that might be a tall task, the Lakers do have a good amount of talent on their team.
However, like all teams in the NBA, staying healthy is going to be key. So far, the Lakers don’t have any major injuries heading into camp, but there are recent reports about Brook Lopez dealing with a lingering back issue.
As a seven-foot tall center, a back issue is certainly a bit concerning. The Lakers are going to be very careful with Lopez, who they acquired from the Brooklyn Nets this offseason. Despite some concerns about Lopez’s back, Luke Walton recently talked about injuries heading into camp. Here’s what he had to say to Trevor Lane of LakersNation.com.
"“Nothing too major, so guys are ready to get after it on Tuesday.”"
This is certainly good news for the whole Lakers team and also Lopez. Recently, the Lakers signed center Andrew Bogut to a one-year deal. This signing fueled speculation that Lopez wasn’t healthy, and that Bogut will be used as insurance if that is the case.
Next: 3 Reasons why signing Andrew Bogut was smart
With training camp and the preseason right around the corner, staying healthy is going to be key for the Lakers. This season, the Lakers actually have a good amount of depth with a nice mix of young players and veterans. In a long season, that can be used as a weapon for them. However, injuries can derail all of the Lakers’ plans in the 2017-18 season.