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Los Angeles Lakers: Brandon Ingram suffers left hip flexor strain

By Jason Renner

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 7: Brandon Ingram #14 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket against the Atlanta Hawks on January 7, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 7: Brandon Ingram #14 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket against the Atlanta Hawks on January 7, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers small forward Brandon Ingram suffered a strained hip flexor and will be sidelined tonight against the San Antonio Spurs.

The Los Angeles Lakers have experienced first hand that Injuries in the NBA often derail the success a team is having. The absence of a key player in a team’s rotation can disrupt their overall play.

A few teams around the league have experienced such a drop-off since losing their players to injury. Teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers have seen a decrease in production with the losses of Andre Roberson and Kevin Love.

The injury bug has recently struck the Lakers again, sidelining two different players in the past week, including Brandon Ingram.

The injuries continue to pile on late for the Lakers. Amidst a strong performance against the Miami Heat on Thursday,  Ingram left the game with what appeared to be a minor injury. Team officials announced after the game that Ingram strained his left hip flexor.

He was initially listed as questionable for Saturday’s contest against the San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers will have to shuffle their lineup now against the Spurs with the announcement by Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN that Ingram has been ruled out due to his hip.

This is the second injury to the Lakers team in the past week after Josh Hart injured his hand. This injury comes at an unfortunate time as the Lakers were on a four-game winning streak.

The young core of the Lakers has shown their tremendous potential over these past few wins. Ingram, in particular, was playing solid over this stretch, with averages of 18.9 points, 5.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks over the past 10 games, per ESPN.

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Ingram’s development this season has been a highlight of the Lakers season so far. After rookie season marks of .402/.294/.621, while averaging 9.4 points, Ingram has improved to .469/.380/.689 and averaging 16.2 points.

This development in his second season has proved the organization’s belief in their young core to be valid. Ingram’s strong play this season and his season averages show his value to the team. The team has already surpassed last year’s win total with 21 games left to play.

If there was any possibility that the Lakers might continue this win streak and make a playoff push, that may be over with Ingram’s injury. However, expect some of the Lakers’ reserves to see increased minutes.

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Expect Kyle Kuzma to replace Ingram in the starting lineup, and for Thomas Bryant and Alex Caruso to possibly see increased minutes. With one youngster out, there is time to see what our other youngsters can do.

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