Lakers news: LA’s depth continues to be tested with 2 new injury updates
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers are being tested this season. Expectations already weren’t very high for the purple and gold heading into the year and every time the team takes one step forward it then follows it up with two steps back.
Los Angeles was finally gaining momentum earlier in the year until Anthony Davis suffered a foot injury that will ultimately keep him out for at least a month. That set the team back as the initial absence of AD was too much to overcome.
Then when the Lakers finally started rolling again LeBron James came down with a non-covid illness. Luckily, the Lakers were able to shock the Miami Heat thanks to Dennis Schroder but the team has since taken two steps back after Schroder provided one step forward.
Both Lonnie Walker IV (who has missed the last three games) and Austin Reaves have been given a two-week timeline to return to action. Walker has been diagnosed with left knee tendonitis while Reaves has a left hamstring strain.
Medical update from the Lakers:
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) January 6, 2023
Austin Reaves has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain and will be reevaluated in approximately two weeks.
Lonnie Walker IV has been diagnosed with left knee tendinitis and will be reevaluated in approximately two weeks.
This couldn’t come at a worse time for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The entire goal for the Los Angeles Lakers right now is to stay afloat while Anthony Davis rehabs his injury. If the team can just stay close to the playoff picture then they could make a run once Davis returns if he plays like he was earlier this season.
Thus far, the Lakers have been able to do that with a .500 record since Davis’s injury. However, the team is entering a pretty tough stretch of games, making it a bad time for LA’s depth to continue to be tested.
In the next two weeks, the Lakers play the Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets, Kings and Memphis Grizzlies. The Rockets are the only “bad” team on that list.
The next 4-5 weeks are the most important of the season as they will send the Lakers in one direction or the other. Either they stay in the hunt and have a chance and the front office commits to improving the team. Or, things start to fall apart for the Lakers and the team decides to roll with the current roster it has.
And of course, this is all assuming that LA can get its depth back in two weeks along with the return of Anthony Davis. If all of those injuries take longer to heal than expected then the team will be in serious trouble.