The Los Angeles Lakers play their second game since the all-star break on the road Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks. Both teams are far different than they were before the trade deadline with Los Angeles really needing this win for their trek up the Western Conference standings.
Los Angeles has only played two games with its full new-look roster and the team is 2-0 in those games with a +31 point differential. It is hard not to buy into this team when it is putting together results like that.
However, the team has already taken a blow with its new-look roster as D’Angelo Russell suffered an ankle injury early in Thursday’s game against the Golden State Warriors. Thankfully, the injury does not appear to be as serious as initially thought — so will Russell play on Sunday?
Latest D’Angelo Russell injury update:
Update: D’Angelo Russell has officially been listed as OUT vs the Mavericks.
D’Angelo Russell was listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Mavericks and all indications are that he will not play. Darvin Ham essentially confirmed that reality, calling Russell day-to-day after the injury.
While it is a blow to not have Russell against another Western Conference foe, at least the team is not going to be without him for a significant amount of time.
Full Lakers injury report vs Mavericks:
D’Angelo Russell should be the only Laker that misses this game against the Mavericks. Both LeBron James (foot) and Anthony Davis (foot) have been added to the injury report but are listed as probable to play in this game.
This is business as usual for the Lakers, who have the two superstars on the injury report in this capacity almost every game. Outside of that, there are no other players on the Lakers injury report.
Full Mavericks injury report vs Lakers:
Dallas is not going to miss a player like D’Angelo Russell but the team does have two role players missing this game. Maxi Kleber (hamstring) and Davis Bertans (calf) have both been listed as out vs Los Angeles.
Kleber averages 25.6 minutes per game while Bertans averages 10.6 minutes per game. These are not big losses for the Mavericks but they are still losses. Dallas is losing size with these injuries, which may bode well for Anthony Davis.