The Los Angeles Lakers came up short against the Boston Celtics in their second Summer League game, but more importantly, they also lost guard Josh Hart. Hart was in the team’s starting five after coming off the bench in their previous outing against the Los Angeles Clippers and had a solid performance with 15 points and 5 rebounds. Unfortunately, during crunch time in the fourth quarter, things went south.
Hart made a great move to euro-step around his defender and finish on a breakaway, but when he landed he came down awkwardly and was clearly in pain. After attempting to walk it off, it was clear that Hart would not be able to continue and he limped back to the training room, forced to miss the rest of the game. Afterward, it was revealed that Hart had a mild ankle sprain, via Lakers Nation’s Serena Winters:
Jud says Josh Hart has a mild right ankle sprain.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) July 9, 2017
It’s not yet clear what Hart’s status will be for the team’s next game, a point guard showdown between Lonzo Ball and the Lakers against De’Aaron Fox and the Sacramento Kings on Monday. However, Magic Johnson already opted to play it safe and remove second-year forward Brandon Ingram from Summer League after he suffered a cramp at the end of regulation against the Clippers, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they took the same cautious approach with Hart as well.
Los Angeles acquired Hart when they traded the 28th pick in the draft to the Utah Jazz in exchange for the 30th and 42nd picks. Utah grabbed center Tony Bradley with the 28th pick, while the Lakers used the 30th pick to select Hart and the 42nd on Indiana big man Thomas Bryant. A senior out of Villanova, Los Angeles will be hoping that Hart can provide some scoring and solid defense from the guard position this season.