Los Angeles Lakers: Luke Walton eases up stance on Rising Stars Game
By Nick Ziegler
On Friday night, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram will be representing the Los Angeles Lakers in the Rising Stars Game. However, their coach doesn’t want them to play big minutes.
One of the first big events of All-Star Weekend is the Rising Stars Game that will be taking place on Friday night. This is usually a very entertaining game between some of the youngest stars in the league, and the rosters for both Team U.S. and Team World have a lot of talent.
For the Los Angeles Lakers, they will be represented well in the game, as both Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma will be playing on Team U.S. If not for Lonzo Ball having a sprained MCL, he too would have been on the roster.
Since the Lakers did play on Thursday night in Minnesota, both Kuzma and Ingram will likely be a bit tired after the game and the travel back to Los Angeles. However, they both have young legs and appear eager to shine on their home court.
Recently, Luke Walton talked about his desire to have them play limited minutes. However, he recently changed his tune a bit. Here’s what Walton had to say on Spectrum Sports Net, with text via Corey Hansford of LakersNation.com.
"“Ultimately, I’ll leave it up to them. My recommendation is that they don’t play big minutes. But if they want to, that’s their decision as long as they’re cleared from the medical staff.”"
It isn’t too surprising to see Walton not wanting his young players to play big minutes in an exhibition game after playing the night before. However, with the game being in Los Angeles, the fans will certainly want to see Ingram and Kuzma showcased for the rest of the league to see.
Both are playing extremely well this season, and they could both be candidates for the MVP award in the game. Since the Lakers don’t have Larry Nance Jr. anymore, this game will be the only event that has Lakers featured in it.
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As long as both are feeling well after the loss on Thursday night, expect to see a lot of Kuzma and Ingram on Friday night. With this likely being a high scoring affair, it sets up nicely for both Kuzma and Ingram to have big games.