The Los Angeles Lakers recently got a bit of bad news as it was reported that new center Timofey Mozgov injured his groin while playing for the Russian National Team. The severity of the injury was unknown, but it certainly didn’t bring confidence among the fan base after he was given $64 million this summer.
Mozgov was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Saturday to determine exactly what the issue was, but after doing so, the Lakers haven’t revealed what the issue is as of yet.
The team announced that Mozgov will sit out the final two games of his international tournament and be re-evaluated next week:
After undergoing an MRI on Saturday, Mozgov will miss Russia’s next two games at its international tournament in Tbilisi, Georgia, and be re-evaluated sometime mid-next week, per Lakers spokesman John Black.
Last year Mozgov rushed back from off-season knee surgery and was never 100 percent throughout the year. The injury limited Mozgov’s mobility, which makes a huge difference for someone like Mozgov who isn’t the most nimble player to begin with.
In the prior year, Mozgov was a key component to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ trip to the NBA Finals and the Lakers are banking on him returning to that level of play where he was a force on defense and the backboards. The Lakers need him to be their rim protector and anchor of the defense.
There is still plenty of time before training camp begins so as long as the injury isn’t anything too severe Mozgov should be able to make a full recovery before the start of the season. Head coach Luke Walton believes Mozgov will bring a lot to this team, but he will need to be at 100 percent to do so.