Update: After an initial diagnosis of an Achilles strain, Lakers rookie Josh Hart received an MRI on Tuesday and got some good news. According to the team, Hart’s injury was upgraded to Achilles bursitis, an improvement over his original diagnosis. It’s not immediately clear if the shooting guard will miss significant time with the injury. The Lakers’ first game of the regular season will be played on Thursday.
Original Story Follows:
The 2017-18 NBA regular season tips off Tuesday night, but the Los Angeles Lakers will get a few extra days to prepare for their season opener against the crosstown rival Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
The Lakers endured an up-and-down six-game preseason campaign, dealing with injuries to key players along the way that have prevented fans from seeing the full lineup intact. With Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s two-game suspension forcing him to sit the first two contests of the year for the Lakers, the team will once again play without their full lineup intact until at least game No. 3 of 82.
For Thursday’s opener, though, the Lakers might be missing more than just Caldwell-Pope. Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times reports that Julius Randle was limited in Monday’s practice and rookie Josh Hart will undergo an MRI for a left Achilles strain.
The MRI results will paint a clearer picture on the extent of the injury and a timetable for Hart’s return to action. As Lakers fans know, Achilles injuries should warrant extreme caution, but hopefully the MRI results come back clean and Hart will have a speedy recovery.
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