Los Angeles Lakers guard Wayne Ellington will miss the team’s road game on Tuesday against the Houston Rockets due to an illness not related to COVID-19.
He’s one of many Lakers players who won’t be able to play in the contest.
Wayne Ellington is out tonight with a non-COVID related illness. He didn’t make the trip to Houston.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) December 28, 2021
Updated Lakers' status report for today's game against the Rockets. Still a TON of players OUT for LA. pic.twitter.com/9SBJVbRnPJ
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) December 28, 2021
Exactly what illness Ellington is suffering is unknown, though the Lakers no doubt allowed themselves a sigh of relief upon finding out that it’s unconnected to COVID-19.
COVID-19 issues have plagued countless teams, including the Lakers. Virus issues have also resulted in some games being postponed.
The 34-year-old Ellington is in his second stint with the Lakers after previously playing for them during the 2014-15 season.
In August, Ellington signed to play for the Lakers. He has started in eight of the 26 games he’s played for them this season.
In those contests, Ellington has averaged a modest 6.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game and has been on the court for an average of 21.7 minutes per contest.
The Lakers enter their game against the Rockets with a 16-18 record and are hoping to put an end to a frustrating five-game losing streak.
In L.A.’s 122-115 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Christmas, the Lakers were competitive down to the final minute. That was a nice change from their two previous outings in which the team was on the wrong end of blowouts against the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs.
The Lakers are hoping that Ellington’s illness is of the 24-hour variety, as the team will stay on the road on Wednesday night to face the Memphis Grizzlies. After that, L.A. will return home for a five-game home stand that gets underway Friday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.
