The Los Angeles Lakers have been plagued by injuries ever since Rajon Rondo delivered a punch to Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul back at the very beginning of the season.
The team was hit hard on Christmas Day, losing LeBron James for over a month and Rondo for a second time. Before those two could return, the Lakers lost Lonzo Ball back in January for what could be the remainder of the season.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the team announced on Saturday that Brandon Ingram is expected to miss the remainder of the season with an arm injury.
OFFICIAL: Brandon Ingram, who has missed two games due to a sore right shoulder, underwent further testing yesterday which revealed a Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) in his arm.
Ingram is expected to miss the remainder of the season.https://t.co/fNr8DwUbrb
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 9, 2019
If Ingram has in fact played his last game this season, he finishes a very productive and encouraging third season averaging 18.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and three assists while shooting 49.7 percent from the floor. In the six games after the All-Star break, he averaged 27.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
With the playoffs out of reach, many will view this as a tanking move, but putting the health of their players is the top priority for the Lakers as they prepare for a crucial offseason. Their young players expect to play a major role in the team’s future, so allowing them to take time to get healthy so they can be ready for offseason work is key for development.
But again, the health of their players is the top priority right now. It’s great that they were able to detect this injury now before it could potentially get worse. Hopefully Ingram can make a full recovery sooner rather than later.
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