The Los Angeles Lakers got some good news on Thursday regarding their newly-signed center, Andre Drummond. Specifically, his toenail.
According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin and Adrian Wojnarowski, Drummond is expected to miss no more than one or two games with a nauseating right toe injury.
Drummond — who was signed by L.A. on Sunday via buyout — injured his toe during his strange Lakers debut against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. The center had his foot stepped on by 7'0, 280-pound Brook Lopez during the first quarter, and was unable to even wear shoes by halftime. After the game, he revealed that the entire nail on his right big toe had come off.
“I didn't really think anything of it,” Drummond said. “I came back in the second quarter and it was hurting a little bit more. And then after halftime, I finally took my sock off to look and my whole toenail was gone. It was all bad from there. I couldn't walk or run, so I just told coach to take me out.”
Fortunately, X-rays came back negative for fractures.
If you told me losing a full toenail minutes before checking back into an NBA game would be severely debilitating and painful I would believe you
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvoNBA) April 1, 2021
“I’ve lost a toenail before, but this one is very, very painful,” he added.
Lakers center @AndreDrummond explaining how he injured his toenail – Well, how he lost his toenail would be a better description: pic.twitter.com/cYYQvB9Cy7
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) April 1, 2021
“It was really bothering him. [He] almost didn’t return after halftime,” Vogel said. “He’ll be re-evaluated tomorrow, see how it feels overnight, and he’ll be day-to-day.”
In 14 minutes, Drummond had four points, one rebound, two assists, one block, four fouls, and three turnovers. In his first game since Feb. 12, he looked understandably rusty and grounded on both ends, though his presence did spark the Lakers in the first quarter.
Andre Drummond is in the books as a Laker 💪https://t.co/7EJYCWJfAh
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 1, 2021
https://twitter.com/bamkevln/status/1377444241987764233
After the 112-97 loss to Milwaukee, Markieff Morris shared his tale of losing a toenail.
“I mean I played the next game, but s—, man, that s— was like a month and a half before it started feeling better,” he told reporters.
Drummond's absence could insert Marc Gasol back into the starting lineup. The veteran started 38 games for L.A. being demoted to the end of the rotation in the wake of Drummond's signing. Montrezl Harrell prefers to come off the bench.
The Lakers will play two more games on the West Coast — at the Sacramento Kings on Friday and a “road matchup” vs. the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on Easter Sunday — before embarking East for a difficult five-game swing.
L.A. has lost five of seven games since LeBron James joined Anthony Davis on the injury report with a high-ankle sprain that could keep him out for at least three more weeks. Davis has been sidelined since re-aggravated his calf/Achilles area on Valentine's Day.
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