The Los Angeles Lakers announced rookie forward Adou Thiero has been diagnosed with a right MCL sprain. He will be re-evaluated by team doctors in approximately four weeks.
It’s unclear when Thiero injured his knee, but it is worth nothing that he recently worked his way back from left knee surgery, which forced him to miss Summer League, the preseason and the start of the regular season.
The Lakers have been cautious with Thiero in his rookie season to make sure his body was 100% healthy and in NBA game shape. He has appeared in 15 games, averaging just 5.8 minutes, 1.3 points and 1.2 rebounds.
When the Lakers traded up to draft Thiero in the second round out of Arkansas they knew he already had surgery on his left knee, but they saw enough potential in him that they were willing to take that risk.
Now, he is dealing with a separate MCL sprain in his right knee and the Lakers again will surely be cautious with his long-term health in mind.
The injury comes at an unfortunate time as Thiero may have otherwise gotten a look in the rotation with the Lakers’ need for defense and athleticism.
L.A. is currently without a number of key players as Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura are dealing with calf injuries while Gabe Vincent is still nursing a back issue, with Thiero now joining them.
Marcus Smart reveals advice for Adou Thiero
Marcus Smart has mentored Thiero a bit during his rookie season with the Lakers and he recently shared the advice he gave the forward.
“Keep going,” Smart said after a recent practice. “In this league, everyone comes into this league as a star and then you got to adjust to the role that you’re given. Not everybody is going to be a star or that guy in this league the way that they want to so you gotta figure out a way to be that guy and to be able to get yourself on the court. We got a lot of talent here, so it’s going to be hard for a dude to come in and just take spots. He has to go out and prove and show that, hey, he deserves to be on the court and he deserves to find some playing time for him.
“And that’s the way he’s gonna be able to do it. Let the scoring come second and that’s all I’ve been telling him. We got a lot of guys that can score the ball, there’s not a lot of guys that want to play defense. So being able to go out there and play that defensive role gets you on the court, everything else you can add it to it.”
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