The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets but all was not rosy for the fans as D’Angelo Russell was not seen again after halftime due to a soreness on his left leg. While Russell looked like a good acquisition when he came to the Lakers from Minnesota, he has missed matches due to his hip and ankle injuries. So fans are worried that he may again miss a few crucial games in the business end of the regular season.
Howeer Lakers coach Darvin Ham has said that it was more of a precautionary measure for the player, who according to him could have continued the match. He shared that he did not want Russell to be in any risk.
“It was definitely precautionary. He could have continued the game if we needed him to. The bodies we have available to us now, we just didn’t want to risk it,” Ham stated on the injury concern.
Russell was having a decent outing when he had to leave the court. He finished with six points, three rebounds and four assists. He’s averaging 17.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game through the 14 games that he has donned the Purple and gold.
The win against the Rockets have moved the Lakers within touching distance of the Warriors. Lakers are half game away from the sixth placed Warriors. With four games remaining in the regular season, the Lakers will do everything in their power to move out of the play-in and secure a proper spot in the playoffs. The Lakers have a record of 40-38 whereas the Warriors are at 41-38.
The Lakers were led by Anthony Davis, who delivered with 40 points nine rebounds and two blocks. Whereas LeBron James backed him up with a triple-double which had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Overall they are keen to move higher on the table and secure a playoff slot.
“We just want to put ourselves in the position to compete for a championship. These last four games are very important for our team, not only wins and losses but also the chemistry side as well. We need to continue to build what we’ve been building over the last month or so. We’ll see what happens,” LeBron stated after the win over the Rockets.
Lakers will next play the Utah Jazz away from home followed by the Los Angeles Clippers on consecutive days. These two matches will more or less determine their destiny this season.
