The Los Angeles Lakers continue their homestand leading up to the All-Star break with a showdown against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. But as has been the case this season, they’re going to be short-handed. Luka Doncic suffered a hamstring injury during the Lakers’ win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, and he was officially ruled out against the Warriors. However, there is a chance new addition Luke Kennard could make his Lakers’ debut.
The trade between the Lakers and the Hawks was finalized late Thursday evening, and Luke Kennard was officially listed as questionable on the team’s injury report amid the pending trade. In addition to Luka Doncic being ruled out, rookie Adou Thiero is also out as he continues to recover from a knee injury.
Doncic’s injury occurred near the end of the first half against the 76ers. He exited the game and was ultimately ruled out after halftime. Rui Hachimura started the second half in his place. At the time of his exit, he had 10 points, four rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes. He’s dealt with various injury issues this season, but is still leading the NBA in scoring at 33.4 points.
In the case of Kennard, the Lakers acquired the sharpshooter in their only deal of the trade deadline. While the trade was not yet official during JJ Redick’s pregame press conference for the 76ers game, he was able to talk at length after the game about what Kennard will bring to the lineup.
“He’s one of the best shooters in the NBA. I’m going to highly encourage him to shoot more and not turn down shots,” Redick said. “But I think one of the underrated parts of his game is his ability to move and create second actions and move the basketball. And you’ve seen that now at a number of his stops, where you can initiate the offense through off-ball movement, and he will make the right play and sort of get the offense going. So he’ll be a corner threat and he’ll be an on-ball threat and we’re excited to have him.”
The Lakers are currently in fifth place in the Western Conference standings at 31-19, and have won two consecutive games. They are in the midst of a five-game homestand leading up to All-Star Weekend.
