It was a scary scene when Los Angeles Lakers forward Nick Young came down clutching his right leg, unable to put weight on it after contesting a layup Tuesday against the New Orleans Pelicans on a non-contact play. Fortunately for the upstart Los Angeles Lakers, MRI results showed that its bounce back player of the season suffered just a strained calf muscle and is expected to miss just two to four weeks.
The injury was initially reported as a strained Achilles’ tendon, which elicited fears of a serious injury reminiscent of Kobe Bryant’s career altering injury. Nick Young had been a welcome surprise for the Los Angeles Lakers this season, thrusting himself into the starting lineup after nearly being waived in the preseason. He is averaging 13.3 points per game in just 25 minutes and has emerged as one of the team’s best perimeter defenders. Swaggy P has also shot well from beyond the arc, hitting on 41 percent of his attempts from deep.
“He’s been playing great, such a huge part of what we’ve done so far,” Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton said. “Obviously, it’s a big blow to our team and what we’re trying to do but that’s part of life in the NBA, so we’ll figure it out and keep moving forward.”
The Los Angeles Lakers had already been playing without starting point guard D’Angelo Russell before Nick Young came down with the injury. Russell is expected to miss at least a couple more weeks.
“It’s coming along,” Walton said of Russell’s recovery. “He did some non-weight bearing underwater treadmill the other day in New Orleans and says his knee feels good. But again, it’s nothing we’re going to rush.”
The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the season’s feel good stories, performing far better than anyone expected with its young core, with the team looking like they enjoy playing with each other. They were at .500 before Nick Young suffered the injury.
Source: Nba.com