Lakers News: JJ Redick Updates D'Angelo Russell Injury Status After Pistons Game Exit

The beleaguered point guard departed the eventual loss in the fourth quarter.

Dec 23, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell (1) controls the ball against Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Beleaguered Los Angeles Lakers reserve point guard D'Angelo Russell departed his team's eventual 117-114 loss to the Detroit Pistons in the fourth quarter with a mysterious ailment.

After the game, first-year head coach J.J. Redick provided a vague update regarding the 6-foot-3 former Ohio State Buckeye's health, according to David Yapkowitz of ClutchPoints.

Redick indicated that the one-time All-Star hurt either his thumb or whole hand, and was having it looked at by team medical personnel.

As of this writing, the Lakers have yet to reveal an injury report for their next matchup, Christmas Day against All-Star forward LeBron James' longtime nemeses the Golden State Warriors. Once that information is divulged, fans should be able to have a better sense of what's wrong with Russell and his availability for Wednesday.

Russell has had a fraught 2024-25 season with L.A. thus far. In fact, he's had a bit of an up-and-down run for the Lakers since rejoining the club via three-team trade in February 2023.

Quickly installed as the Lakers' starting point guard by then-head coach Darvin Ham, Russell showed off a deft touch as a scorer and 3-point shooter, while helping L.A. right its Russell Westbrook-rocked ship en route to the West's No. 7 seed in 2022-23. But during the playoffs, Russell's shooting fell off a cliff, and he saw his backup, Dennis Schröder (now with the Lakers' Christmas opponent), slowly chip away at his minutes. Schröder quickly replaced Russell as a closer thanks to his point-of-attack defense, then as a starter during the Lakers' last stand, a Game 4 Western Conference Finals loss to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets.

Russell inked a two-year, $36 million deal to return to the Lakers that summer, with a player option for 2024-25, fully expecting to be traded. The next season, Russell quickly lost his starting spot, as a desperate Ham sought out a winning first five by shuffling in more defense. But the experiments were short-lived, and Russell did regain that role eventually. The Lakers failed to find a trade partner for his services even while he turned things around to close out the regular season. He had another unproductive playoff performance, and the Lakers were eliminated by the Nuggets again, this time in the first round.

This year, new head coach J.J. Redick started Russell to begin the year, before quickly benching him after getting frustrated by Russell's late-game decision making and defensive issues. In 28 contests this season (10 starts), the 28-year-old is averaging a career-low 12.5 points on .415/.335/.849 shooting splits, 4.7 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 steals.

In just 15:30 off the bench against Detroit Monday, Russell scored five points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 shooting from the charity stripe, while dishing out five assists and registering a -13 plus-minus, the second-worst in the game behind fellow disappointing reserve L.A. guard Gabe Vincent.

On the surface, at least, it may not look like a major loss for Los Angeles if Russell can't play tomorrow or even misses extended time.

Still, if Russell does sit, Los Angeles will greatly miss his supplemental playmaking and handle off the bench against a veteran-laden Warriors team that's filthy with talented guard play.

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