Rookie D’Angelo Russell gave fans, coaches and his teammates quite the scare on Tuesday night. Russell fell hard to the floor after trying to block Rudy Gobert’s shot by the basket and remained on the floor for some time while clearly in pain.
After witnessing Julius Randle go down with a season-ending injury in the team’s first regular-season game last year, everyone had a reason to be concerned about seeing Russell in pain on the floor.
Fortunately, the injury wasn’t serious and Russell actually wanted to get back on the floor against the Jazz. Russell tried to make his case, but Gary Vitti and company wanted to take a cautious approach, according to Lakers reporter Mike Trudell:
Russell: "“I feel fine, man. I wanted to get back out there, but Gary Vitti and (staff) said they didn’t think it would be a smart idea."
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 7, 2015
Despite dealing with an injury that could force him to miss some time due to soreness, Russell wants to get back to work as soon as possible, via Trudell:
Russell on the sore glute: "I just ice and try to take care of it the best way possible. I’m trying to get out there as soon as possible.”
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 7, 2015
The Lakers training staff will likely continue to evaluate the severity of Russell’s injury tomorrow. The rookie’s status for Thursday’s game against the Toronto Raptors may remain uncertain leading up to tipoff in Ontario.
Even if Russell is ready to go, the coaching staff may keep him out for precautionary reasons. Head coach Byron Scott may be able to get a look at some of the other guards on the roster in the meantime.