The Los Angeles Lakers have been doing quite well for themselves lately and have won seven of their last ten games, some even without LeBron James.
James isn’t the only one who has been sitting out of games due to injury.
D’Angelo Russell has also been absent lately, missing six games as he recovers from an ankle injury.
But head coach Darvin Ham indicated that the successful guard could be back soon.
According to Lakers reporter Ryan Ward, Ham said that the team is “targeting Friday” for Russell’s return.
“I think what he’s going to add is another high IQ basketball player that has elite skill that meshes well with what we already have going on,” Ham said following Tuesday night’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Darvin on D'Angelo: “We have a play group arranged for him, so we’re targeting Friday. We’ll go through the play-group process on Thurs & I think what he’s going to add is another high IQ basketball player that has elite skill that meshes well w/ what we already have going on.”
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) March 8, 2023
The return of Russell will most definitely be welcomed by the Lakers.
They have been doing well without him but Russell adds a level of great play-making and ball movement that will really be helpful as the team tries to climb higher than the ninth seed in the West.
The Lakers will be playing against the Toronto Raptors on Friday and they see that game as another possible win, so they want Russell to assist however he can.
However, some fans are worried that Russell might not actually suit up this weekend.
That is because this injury and recovery have gone on much longer than expected.
When Russell first got hurt, it was assumed he’d be back in just a couple of days.
Now, six games later, people are concerned his re-entry could be delayed again.
But based on what Ham said, it looks like Russell will soon be back, ready to play, and eager to get his team in even better shape.
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