Los Angeles Lakers point guard Dennis Schroder was the only player who didn't practice on Friday ahead of the team's first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies this weekend, but head coach Darvin Ham said the absence was only precautionary, according to the LA Times' Dan Woike.
Schroder was excellent for the Lakers in their gutsy 108-102 Play-In Tournament win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night, earning LA the No. 7 seed and a matchup with the Grizzlies.
He scored 21 points, made all eight of his free throws and shot 3-of-4 from beyond the arc including a huge corner three in the dying seconds of regulation and two crucial free throws in overtime.
The 6-foot-2 point guard also passed for two assists and played some solid defense for his squad.
Schroder drilled a tiebreaking 3-pointer on a pass from LeBron James with 1.4 seconds left in regulation before icing the win with two free throws with 8.4 seconds left in overtime for the Lakers.
The 29-year-old German stepped up for D'Angelo Russell, who had a nightmare performance against the team that traded him in February. Russell had eight assists but scored just two points on 1-of-9 shooting before getting benched down the stretch.
It'll be all hands on deck for the 43-39 Los Angeles Lakers against a strong No. 2 seed Memphis team that has battled controversy all year but is loaded with talent and still managed to win over 50 games in 2022-23.
Dennis Schroder returned from a two-game injury absence in the Lakers win on Tuesday night, and it looks like he will be good to go for Game 1 against the Grizzlies on Sunday.
That's great news for Lakers fans, who will hope he can continue playing how he did in the play-ins once the real NBA Playoffs get underway on Sunday.
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