The Lakers’ first televised game of basketball since March 10th will happen in less than 30 minutes, with the team set to take on the Dallas Mavericks. It has already been reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN that the Lakers will not have LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the second half, while the team will also be without Markieff Morris as he just cleared quarantine yesterday. However, they have a late scratch right before the game, as Alex Caruso will miss the game with a back contusion (first reported by Mike Trudell of the Lakers/Spectrum SportsNet).
The contusion is considered minor, and Caruso is day-to-day moving forward. https://t.co/5k7YflRoHp
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) July 23, 2020
Trudell states that Caruso is day-to-day, giving some hope to the Lakers getting Caruso back before the seeding games that start July 30th. The Lakers also have a scrimmage on Saturday as well as Monday. We’ll see if Caruso can come back for those.
It shouldn’t worry Lakers fans too much, as Caruso was probably kept out of today’s game as more of a precaution than anything. These games have no impact on seeding for the playoffs, with the scrimmages essentially being preseason games (preseason games that just happen to have follow a four-month absence due to a global pandemic).
The Lakers are going to need Alex Caruso for the restart as well as the playoffs, as they will be without guards Avery Bradley for the entire time and will be without Rajon Rondo until late in the playoffs. With increased minutes, Caruso should be able to give the Lakers assurance that they will not lose an edge on the defensive end, an area where they’ve been elite in all season long.
Get well, Alex! The Lakers are going to need you.
