With the Los Angeles Lakers struggling, what is the latest update on Brook Lopez’s ankle injury?
The month of December has not been kind to the Los Angeles Lakers as expected. With games against some of the best in the league, the Lakers have seen their season torpedo rather quickly.
In addition to the tough schedule, the Lakers also have been a bit banged up in the month. Brook Lopez, Lonzo Ball, and Brandon Ingram have all missed games this month, with Lopez’s injury being the most serious.
Earlier in the month, Lopez went down with a nasty sprained ankle. The original timetable was at about 3 weeks before the Lakers would re-evaluate. Recently, Luke Walton spoke with Matthew Moreno of LakersNation.com about Lopez’s injury. Here’s what he had to say.
"“The last time I went and looked at his ankle, he’s got color up and down it,” said Lakers head coach Luke Walton, adding “not much” had changed with Lopez’s timeline. “I knew he was going to shoot [Wednesday].“Shooting stationary jumpers and playing at this level, trying to run up and down up the court, it’s nice to have him back on the court but he still needs to go through full practices and all that stuff before we even think about getting him back.”"
Seeing Lopez shooting jumpers is certainly an encouraging sign, but he still has some work to do before we will see him back on the court. Without Lopez, the Lakers have won just one game in a shocker against the Houston Rockets.
So far this season, Lopez hasn’t played up to his normal standards, but losing him still has had an impact on the team. Rotations without Lopez have been interesting, to say the least, as Luke Walton has struggled to juggle Kyle Kuzma, Larry Nance Jr., and Julius Randle.
With a history of foot issues, the Lakers are likely going to be very careful with Lopez coming back. So far this season, Lopez’s number have been way down from his career averages. Prior to the start of the season, Lopez was regarded as one of the best offensive centers in the NBA. This is something that the Lakers have yet to see.
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Hopefully, when Lopez is back, the Lakers will see the 20 points per game version. While Lopez playing better would help the Lakers get some wins, it could also help his trade value before the deadline.