Los Angeles Lakers forward Brandon Ingram suffered a left hip flexor strain in the team’s win over the Miami Heat on Thursday night, an injury the team said would leave his status for the next game of their road trip against the San Antonio Spurs in jeopardy.
The Lakers are already thinned by injuries as it is, but losing Ingram, who has led the Lakers in scoring at 16.2 points per game this season while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and playing more minutes (33.8 per game), would be a difficult absence for the team to overcome.
However, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, the Lakers will have to figure out a way to compensate for their star sophomore missing the game against the Spurs because his hip is still bothering him and he will sit out Saturday’s contest:
Brandon Ingram (hip) is out against the Spurs.
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) March 3, 2018
Additionally, Ingram will undergo an MRI on his hip once the Lakers’ road trip concludes:
Brandon Ingram will undergo an MRI on his strained left hip flexor on Sunday in Los Angeles.
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) March 3, 2018
With Ingram out and Josh Hart already lost for potentially the rest of the season, while Corey Brewer has been waived, the Lakers will be incredibly thin on the wing Saturday.
Kyle Kuzma will likely see more time at the three position, and Lakers head coach Luke Walton could go small with three-guard lineups more often against the Spurs.
Los Angeles also might finally be forced to dust off veteran forward Luol Deng, who was active against the Heat but did not play. Travis Wear, who the team called up and signed to a 10-day contract from the South Bay Lakers, also might see some time playing out of position at small forward due to his shooting ability.
