2. The Los Angeles Lakers aren’t healthy right now
The Los Angeles Lakers, much like they were last season, are dealing with some key injuries right now.
Kendrick Nunn, a big free-agent signing this summer, suffered a sprained ankle during the preseason and is now out for at least a few weeks due to a bone bruise in his knee.
Talen Horton-Tucker, whom the team is high on, is sidelined because of a sprained ankle.
Trevor Ariza, one of the Lakers’ grizzled vets, who also won a ring with them back in the day, is out for the next two months.
That’s a fair deal to overcome.
Nunn, assuming he comes back and has no residual issues from his bone bruise, should play a key role on this team. He is an efficient scorer both in the paint and from downtown, and many also feel he is a capable defender.
Nunn is also a player who can create and hit his own shot, which will make him a spark plug off the bench. The same goes for Horton-Tucker.
Teams can often overcome one key injury, but multiple injuries will cause a team’s performance to sag no matter how much other guys step up.