After a surprisingly good start to the season, the rebuilding Los Angeles Lakers have been hit by a slew of injuries to derail their promising season. Following injuries to starters D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young that have and will foreseeably keep the two key players out for an extended period of time, the Lakers will also have to make do without backup point guard Jose Calderon, who will be out two to four weeks with a right hamstring strain.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, an MRI exam confirmed that Jose Calderon suffered the hamstring injury that further depletes the Laker lineup. The team also missed glue guy Larry Nance in their game against the Memphis Grizzlies Saturday and was listed as questionable for Monday’s game against the Utah Jazz.
If there’s a sliver of good news for the Los Angeles Lakers, who have lost seven of their last 10 games, it is that D’Angelo Russell, who has missed nine games with a sore left knee, is scheduled to be re-evaluated Tuesday. Russell underwent a platelet-rich plasma injection on the cumbersome left knee two weeks ago.
As noted by the Los Angeles Times report, D’Angelo Russell’s injury rehab has mostly consisted of pool cardio work strength work on his core and glutes. A positive result from the re-evaluation could see him progress to on-court work. The absence of both Russell and Jose Calderon means that remaining guards Lou Williams, Jordan Clarkson and Marcelo Huertas would have to share point guard duties for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers have placed rookie Brandon Ingram in place of injured Nick Young, who could out up to a month with a right calf strain. Young went down with a scary non-contact injury during a Nov. 29 game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
