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Los Angeles Lakers: 5 Biggest lowlights from the 2017-18 season

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - JANUARY 17: The Los Angeles Lakers huddle before the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 17, 2018 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 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 Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - JANUARY 17: The Los Angeles Lakers huddle before the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 17, 2018 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 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 Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Lakers
Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images

No. 1: Injuries

The one thing in professional sports that can derail even the best teams is injuries. This year, in particular, seemed to be a bad year for injuries. We would see what felt like a record number of injuries that started with the first game of the season. Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward suffered a broken ankle just minutes into the season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This season saw major players go down with injuries as New York Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis suffered a torn ACL. Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley suffer a heel injury that resulted in him playing only 12 games this season.

The string of injuries for the Lakers started when Lonzo Ball suffered a right shoulder sprain in December that caused him to miss six games. He came back from his injury only to suffer another injury in January, which was a left knee sprain, that caused him to miss 15 games.

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While Lonzo Ball was out, the Lakers leaned upon Brandon Ingram to play point guard and he was doing a heck of a job. Once Lonzo returned from injury against the Dallas Mavericks, it seemed like the Lakers were going to have a full squad going into the final stretch of the season.

That was until Brandon Ingram suffered a groin strain on March 1, 2018, against the Miami Heat. That was followed by Josh Hart fracturing his left hand during practice. The injuries were starting to pile up and with the end of the season in sight, this was definitely not how the Lakers wanted things to conclude.

To make matters worse, newly acquired Laker, Isaiah Thomas, only played 17 games before getting season-ending hip surgery. That injury could end his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The only positive highlight to come out of this was the fact that Julius Randle managed to play all 82 games. Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma all missed the Lakers final three games with various injuries.

Conclusion

To be honest, this was a good season for the Los Angeles Lakers. It wasn’t a perfect season, but in reality, perfect seasons don’t exist. What Lakers fans were hoping for was an improvement this season from the young Lakers and they delivered.

Next: Los Angeles Lakers: 5 Possible Outcomes This Offseason

It didn’t come without its ups and downs. All in all, you can’t want a team to succeed without expecting them to fail. Despite the shortcomings, the Lakers had this season, there are plenty of things to be optimistic about for about the future.

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