Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell has been bothered by a sore left knee, causing him to miss Friday's 116-107 loss to the San Antonio Spurs and only play 23 less-effective-than-normal minutes in Sunday's 1118-110 loss to the Chicago Bulls. Russell sat out the Lakers' win over the Thunder Tuesday, and won't travel with the team to Oakland for their game against the Warriors Wednesday.
From the Orange County Register's Mark Medina:
"We want him to push and be aggressive," Walton said. "You can't play at this level by favoring it. If that's the case where it hurts, then we need to shut him down until he's healthy. The league is too good only to go halfway and show some of the stuff that you can do because you're concerned that something might hurt."
...
"I thought he was favoring it a little bit," Walton said. "I don't know if he was hurt or it was in his head. But it felt like he was floating around the perimeter more than normal."
Russell is a 20-year-old franchise cornerstone, and knee issues should not be taken lightly. Which is why Russell underwent PRP injections in his knee and will miss up to two weeks. Despite their relatively impressive 8-7 record, including a crazy victory Tuesday, the Lakers are clearly rebuilding, so it's common sense not to sit Russell until the pain goes away.
It's not the only issue for the Lakers with injuries, either. Julius Randle has a hip injury that's bothering him and he will also miss the game Wednesday in Oakland.
Julius Randle (hip pointer) is out tonight. Not a surprise, as it really bothered him last night.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) November 24, 2016
This could get ugly quick at Oracle.
