Lakers rookie D'Angelo Russell has injury scare in preseason game
HONOLULU – As NBA preseason games go, it doesn't get much better than this. Especially when it could have been so much worse.
Never mind how the Utah Jazz finished their two-game set with the Lakers in Hawaii on Tuesday by beating Los Angeles 117-114 in overtime, or even the fact that Kobe Bryant looked so much better in his second game back (13 points on five of nine shooting), Metta World Peace played in an NBA game (and played well) for the first time since Feb. 21, 2014 and or that Lakers center Roy Hibbert was slapped by Utah's Trevor Booker (who was ejected) during what was a very chippy affair.
The real memorable part, one that took place in the first quarter at the Stan Sherriff Center, was when Lakers rookie guard D'Angelo Russell hit the floor on his backside after colliding with Jazz big man Rudy Gobert. Russell, the No. 2 pick in the draft and one of the Lakers' crucial young pieces going forward, remained on the ground for approximately a minute before rising.
It was more than long enough to spark a flashback to the Julius Randle injury from a year prior.
Oct. 29, 2014: The fantastic young forward/No. 4 pick fractures his leg in a regular season opener against the Houston Rockets and misses his entire rookie season.
Oct. 7, 2015: Russell avoids a repeat type of injury, suffering a bruised glute that kept him out of action for precautionary reasons.
Alas, the Lakers - whose luck has been so awful these past few years as Bryant, Randle, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard et al suffered serious setbacks - caught a break for once.
"I feel fine, man," Russell said afterwards. "I wanted to get back out there, but (Lakers trainer) Gary Vitti and the rest of the staff said they didn't think it would be a great idea…I'm trying to get out there as soon as possible."
Even in defeat, it was a night of many positives for this fascinating team – with the healthy and hellish Randle leading the way.
His 16-point, five-rebound, four-assist, three-steal night had his teammates buzzing about his part in their rebuilding project afterwards.
"Julius is an animal," Lakers center Roy Hibbert said. "He's the future of this team. He's a future face of the NBA. That boy can play. The things that he does at his size – getting the ball up the court, dunking. The sky is the limit. I've never seen anyone like him."
Said Metta World Peace, who logged his first game action since his return to the NBA and was his intense, impactful self in 21 minutes: "Julius, he's a leader. He could lead us into the playoffs, easy. I saw him lead the team (on Tuesday night). …He was a young, 19-year-old leader.
"If he listens, which he does, we can push him to lead. He has a chance to really play like that and do a lot of other athletic things. Finish, dunk, and all that stuff, which is going to be amazing – points and rebounds, assists, steals, and feed off of it. He did that (against the Jazz), he took the ball from the guy and went coast to coast (for a dunk). I was like, 'Wow.' That's how (the San Antonio Spurs') Kawhi Leonard is, he's both ends. He does the energy stuff."
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