With the Lakers set to begin their preseason on Thursday in Palm Springs against the Suns, a handful of players will be unavailable.
Head coach JJ Redick stated after Thursday’s practice that LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Maxi Kleber and Adou Thiero would all be out for this contest.
Redick also mentioned that there could be other additions
to the injury report, as the team has not officially finalized the list yet. However, this quartet of players is for sure missing this game.
These absences are not a surprise. LeBron James has missed all of training camp dealing with glute nerve irritation. The Lakers have said James being out is more about being “overly cautious” than it being a concern for the NBA’s oldest active player.
Like LeBron, Smart has also yet to practice at training camp. Redick has stated he’s hopeful Smart can return soon as he deals with Achilles tendinopathy. The Lakers acquired him this offseason, hoping he can be a defenisve stalwart for the team.
The news on Maxi Kleber had been a bit more negative as the Lakers forward tweaked his quad on Tuesday and needed an MRI.
However, Redick stated that he’ll be out only a few days. While he will miss Friday’s game against the Suns and likely Sunday’s game against the Warriors, Redick did note that it was a minor thing, meaning it won’t be an extended absence.
While the team is not ringing the alarm bells for Thiero, fans certainly can raise some eyebrows, at least. The Lakers rookie had surgery on his knee before the NBA Draft and is still dealing with swelling.
He didn’t play in any Summer League games, but it was reported he would likely be ready for the start of training camp. Clearly, that didn’t happen.
While the injury list is long, preseason is an odd time.
So far, no one has been ruled out for weeks, so these injuries are not at the point of grave concern. Many players around the league will miss time and monitor their workloads for these games, which will not count toward their regular-season record.
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