Los Angeles Lakers To Be Cautious With D'Angelo Russell's Injury

The Los Angeles Lakers will be cautious with D’Angelo Russell’s left foot soreness through the end of the regular season.

Defeating the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night in overtime, the Los Angeles Lakers have now won four straight games and seven of their last eight games overall.

The Lakers seem to have a lot of momentum heading towards their last few games of the regular season and they may very well be able to achieve their post-All-Star break goal of finishing inside of the Top-6 in the Western Conference standings.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis are both on the floor and “healthy” for the Lakers even though both players continue to deal with nagging injuries, but D’Angelo Russell left this past Sunday’s game against the Houston Rockets early due to left foot soreness and he did not play in Tuesday’s victory over the Jazz due to the same issue.

While head coach Darvin Ham told reporters on Sunday that they took Russell out of the game against Houston for “precautionary reasons,” Ham said on Tuesday that the Lakers’ guard has been dealing with foot soreness for over the last year and that it was “bad timing” with his foot flaring up now.

Los Angeles does not appear to be too concerned with Russell’s availability heading towards the postseason, but they will be cautious and give D’Angelo Russell rest when he needs it, as Ham cited before Tuesday’s game that the team “saw an opportunity to give it an extra day’s rest,” in regards to the foot injury.

Ham on D’Angelo Russell, who’s dealing with the left foot soreness: “Saw an opportunity to give it an extra day’s rest.”

He cited the B2B against the Clippers as a factor. His status for tomorrow, as well as that of LeBron and AD, will be considered after tonight’s game.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) April 4, 2023

Following this win over the Jazz, the Lakers are heading back to Los Angeles, but for a road game against their in-house rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers.

This is the Lakers’ final back-to-back of the season, which also plays into why the team and medical staff deemed it necessary to give D’Angelo Russell an extra day to rest. Now tied with the Clippers for the 6-seed in the conference, Wednesday night’s game suddenly becomes the most important game of the season for both teams.

Having Russell rested and ready to go is key for the Lakers and their chances of winning, which is why they are not pushing things.

Heading into this showdown with the Clippers, Russell will likely show up on the team’s injury report, but the early consensus is that he will be available and play in this crucial game.

According to Darvin Ham, D’Angelo Russell, alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, will be re-evaluated on Wednesday morning and the team will go from there in regards to his availability against the Clippers. 

---

Be sure to catch up on the newest episode of The Fast Break Podcast hosted by Fastbreak's own Brett Siegel!

Streaming on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, The Fast Break Podcast takes you inside the league with the latest news, intel, rumors and interviews from those close to the action for all 30 teams. Be on the lookout for a new episodes every Friday.