Los Angeles Lakers forward Brandon Ingram has made a number of huge strides this season as he became arguably the team’s best all-around player. Unfortunately injuries derailed what was one of the best runs of his young career.
Ingram sustained a strained groin a couple of weeks ago when he was fouled hard on a drive by the Miami Heat’s Justise Winslow. He has been out since, but was recently cleared for non-contact basketball activities, lending to optimism that a return is around the corner.
After practice on Saturday, Ingram said that he hopes to return to full practice and play this week, specifically eyeing the team’s trip to New Orleans, via the Lakers’ official Twitter account:
“I feel really good actually. I started to get back on the court a little bit for a few days, I’m back smiling again. I’m happy to be out here going through a little light shooting. The next step for me is trying to get on the court and go against some of the guys, try to ramp it up a little bit this week, depending on how I feel. … Hopefully I can get to practice in New Orleans. It’s been a long time since I’ve practiced with them, so hopefully I can get out there and do some contact drills.”
Lakers head coach Luke Walton has always maintained that a player needs to go through a full practice before he can play. So Ingram pointing to the practice in New Orleans essentially rules him out for Monday’s game against the Indiana Pacers.
Nonetheless, Ingram simply getting back on the floor and ending his season on a high note is most important.
Ingram leads the Lakers with 16.2 points per game while also adding 5.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists on 46.9 percent shooting. He has shown the flashes that the organization and fans had hoped and having an excellent end to the year would only make everyone that much more excited for next season.
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