On the eve of their first game of the season, the Lakers look set to start the season without their two young stars.
LA took to the practice floor on Tuesday for their final tune-up before hosting the Warriors, but did so without either Cameron Carr or Adou Thiero. Head coach JJ Redick noted after practice that those two were held out yet again, a recurring trend heading into the regular season.
Both players have been
sidelined for games and practice this preseason. Redick had not shown any sense of worry that either player wouldn’t be available for the regular season, going as far as to call Thiero’s first missed game this preseason “maintenance.”
In typical Lakers fashion, a lack of clarity about injuries now leaves uncertainty about how bad injuries may be. With the regular season starting, it does mean that injury reports will become the norm. For LA, that means Tuesday night will provide some of that clarity on Thiero and Carr’s injuries.
Thiero had a strong preseason before the injury, emerging as someone who could potentially see rotation minutes to open the season. Carr, meanwhile, shined in his limited minutes, mostly in garbage time, before suffering a contusion early in the exhibition slate.
Both were exciting parts of the Summer League team and showed flashes of being able to do the same this season. Whether they will be healthy enough to, though, is anyone’s guess.
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