The Los Angeles Lakers fell short on Monday night at the Staples Center against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors with Kevin Durant and company getting the best of Luke Walton's squad in overtime at the Staples Center.
Along with losing for the 18th time this season, the Lakers also appear to have lost veteran center Brook Lopez for a considerable amount of time. Lopez suffered an ankle injury in the loss to the Warriors on Monday and is expected to be reevaluated in three weeks time.
After practice on Tuesday, Lonzo Ball talked about what Lopez means to the team and how he'll be missed in the paint.
“Brook means a lot,” Ball said of Lopez. “Anybody that big with that skillset helps on both offensively and defensively. Big in the paint, he can space the floor on offense. Definitely going to miss him, but we're going to try to do our best without him.”
Ball also spoke about Lopez's demeanor after hearing the diagnosis and how he'll be out for an extended period of time.
“He was very positive,” Ball said of Lopez's demeanor. “He's always a positive guy. He's very happy all the time, so his vibe was cool. Obviously, we're going to miss him. We'll be happy to get him back.”
With Lopez expected to be out of the lineup for the next few weeks, the team will likely turn to Larry Nance Jr., Kyle Kuzma, and Julius Randle. There's also a chance Luke Walton and the coaching staff could turn to rookie Thomas Bryant to help fill the void left by Lopez.
Walton has already stated that Ivica Zubac will not be brought back up from the South Bay Lakers meaning it could be Bryant or simply more minutes for the three players as mentioned above.
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