In the loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers saw Kyle Kuzma go down with an ankle injury. Here are three players that must step up with him out.
Things are not looking good for the Los Angeles Lakers with the season coming to an end. After the loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Lakers are now 5.5 games behind the San Antonio Spurs for the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs.
While 5.5 games is still reachable, the Lakers have done nothing to show that they are capable of erasing the gap. Losses against bad teams have continued to pile up. Unless the Lakers go on a wild run to finish the season, they will be missing the playoffs for the sixth straight season.
To make matters worse for the Lakers, they will also be without Kyle Kuzma for at least a week. In the fourth quarter against the Clippers, Kuzma tweaked his ankle going to the basket and was clearly in a lot of pain. Kuzma left that game early and never returned.
With Lonzo Ball out, Kuzma out, and Ingram dealing with a shoulder injury, the injury report of the Lakers is a lengthy one. However, with them still mathematically in the playoff hunt, they will need to find a way to overcome and win some games.
As Kuzma heals from the ankle injury, here are three players that need to step up with him out.