Already without LeBron James and Rajon Rondo, the Los Angeles Lakers finished the first half of Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder without Kyle Kuzma, who checked out in the second quarter and went to the locker room with head athletic trainer Marco Nuñez.
The Lakers initially announced Kuzma was questionable to return in the second half due to a lower back contusion, then ruled him out in the fourth quarter. Josh Hart took his place to start the third quarter.
Kuzma finished the night with just 4 points on 1-for-4 shooting, to go along with 1 rebound, 1 assist and 3 steals in 16 minutes. Kuzma entered the night having scored in double-figures in 19 consecutive games.
Kuzma had been enjoying a particularly successful month of December, averaging 22.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, all the while shooting 48 percent from the field.
If Kuzma is to miss any sort of extended time, it will further tax the Lakers’ depth that was already eroded to begin with. It remains unclear when James will return from a strained groin suffered on Christmas Day.
Reminder: Vivid Seats is the Official Ticket Reseller of LakersNation.com. New Customers use “LAKERSNATION” (all CAPS) in the Vivid Seats App on your phone and get 10% off any Lakers home game ticket order for the remainder of the season.
