Los Angeles Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell has missed two of the Lakers past three games with a sore knee. There was hope that he wouldn’t have to miss any extended time and that his knee would get better with a little rest, but that no longer seems to be the case.
According to Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet, Russell will miss the next 2-3 weeks after receiving a PRP injection in his left knee:
BREAKING: Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell will miss 2-3 weeks after receiving platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection for sore left knee.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) November 23, 2016
Bresnahan further explained the minor procedure Russell had done:
More D'Angelo: PRP injections stimulate blood flow + healing in areas experiencing decreased blood flow. It's a minimally invasive procedure
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) November 23, 2016
This is tough news for the Lakers as Russell leads the team in scoring and assists and is quite simply the Lakers’ best shot creator both for himself and for others. Missing him for an extended period of time will put a lot of pressure on the rest of the Lakers guards.
Jose Calderon has been starting in place of Russell and that is likely to continue with Russell now on the shelf. Additionally, Jordan Clarkson, Lou Williams, and even Brandon Ingram will have to step up as playmakers for this team.
This is also not ideal for the Lakers as Julius Randle is also dealing with a hip pointer that hindered him on Tuesday night against the Thunder and he is being listed as doubtful for tonight’s game against the Warriors.
The most important thing is Russell’s health and hopefully he will come back in a couple of weeks better than ever and the team can keep up their impressive start while Russell mends.