Lakers insider explains why he’s ‘concerned’ with D’Angelo Russell’s injury

By Orel Dizon
Updated: March 5, 2023

The Los Angeles Lakers are fighting for a postseason spot, and D’Angelo Russell figures to be an important part of the team’s playoff push. However, there are some concerning updates on his injury.

“I could tell you this much,” Allen Sliwa answered when asked about the timetable of Russell’s return from his injury. “We saw him warm up pregame. He did not look like somebody that was ready to come back on Sunday. Now, I could be wrong. But he just wasn’t doing real drills. He wasn’t kind of sprinting and cutting and everything else. That actually concerned me a little bit. I thought, at least in my opinion, I thought that hopefully he’d be a little bit further in his progress.

It seems that the 27-year-old point guard will miss his fifth straight contest when the Lakers host the Golden State Warriors. It would have been an opportune time for Russell to make a return because facing a former team could have motivated him to step his game up. Unfortunately, it appears that he is still a few days away from fully recovering from the right ankle sprain he sustained against the Warriors late last month.

The former All-Star is still considered “day to day.” But for a bit of good news, he is reportedly “trending in the right direction.”

Darvin Ham said D’Angelo Russell is “day to day” and trending in the right direction. Said he’s still taking the necessary steps to get back on the court.

— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) March 5, 2023

The Lakers organization might be looking to play it safe with its starting point guard, considering how crucial the remaining games are going to be for the proud franchise. At 30-34 and sitting at the No. 11 spot in the Western Conference, L.A. has to win a huge percentage of its remaining contests, and having its players at full strength is likely necessary to help the team keep its playoff dreams alive.

Russell was brought in at the trade deadline as part of the blockbuster trade that had the Lakers get rid of Russell Westbrook. In 2015, Russell began his NBA career wearing the Purple and Gold. At the time, he was still a young, headstrong guard who still had some growing up to do.

But in his second stint with the Lakers, he appears to be a wiser player and looks to be the perfect complement to LeBron James and Anthony Davis because of his outside shooting prowess.

In the 2022-23 campaign, Russell has averaged 17.6 points, 6.1 assists and 2.7 3-pointers per match. He has also shot efficiently from the field, converting 46.4 percent of his field-goal attempts and 38.9 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.