Update (November 27): D’Angelo Russell is taking no chances with his knee injury and says he won’t touch the floor until he feels “100 percent.”
From ESPN:
“I definitely don’t want to force anything,” Russell said Saturday at the Lakers’ training facility in his first public comments since the injection. “I feel like I’ve got to be 100 percent perfect before I step back on the floor.”
Russell also admitted that he was in a lot of pain and the injury was changing the way he played:
“I was in a lot of pain, but I knew how to control it,” he said. “I knew what not to do. [There are] so many games in this league, so it’s hard to stay healthy when you’re injured and try to maintain that focus.”
He added, “I can’t really move the way I want, so when I try to fight it and [do] sharp movements and plant and do stuff like that, it aggravated it.”
Original Story: The Los Angeles Lakers announced that starting point guard D’Angelo Russell underwent a PRP injection in his left knee Wednesday, and is expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks.
Press Release: D’Angelo Russell received a PRP injection in his left knee. https://t.co/1MzmhVslc9
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 23, 2016
Russell, 20, had been sidelined for two of the team’s last three games with what was termed a “sore knee.”
The Lakers were blown out by the Golden State Warriors last night.
Per the LA Times:
“If he can’t go out and play without any restrictions, it’s not really worth having him out there right now,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said before Tuesday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. “He’s too young and his future is too bright to risk that, but if he can get out there and play the way we know he can, we want him on the court.”
Russell admitted he was being cautious. Rather than drive to the basket, Russell stayed mostly on the perimeter. He took 11 shots, nine of them three-pointers, and made only three baskets (in the Lakers’ 118-110 loss to the Chicago Bulls.)
Jose Calderon started for Russell against the Spurs and the Thunder.
