Last season the Los Angeles Lakers lost their first-round draft pick at the start of the season to a season-ending injury. Julius Randle went down and was unable to return for the remainder of the year, so when D'Angelo Russell took a hard fall and was not quick to get up there was cause for concern. The point guard suffered a minor injury in the team's preseason game, but it is not serious.
According to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, Russell suffered a glute bruise after taking a hard fall on the court. He stayed down for around two minutes giving fans a heart attack, but the injury is not expected to linger while it could just keep Russell off the court for a few practices.
"He took a pretty good hard fall. I was just hoping there wasn't anything broken," coach Byron Scott said, via ESPN.com. "The way he came down, I could tell he was going to be sore. I knew it was going to be his hip. Now, it's one of those things: It just depends on how fast the kid can heal."
Russell is penciled in as a starter for the Lakers as they have been running with a two guard system with Jordan Clarkson. The Lakers do have some dinged up players heading into the preseason. Nick Young is dealing with a back injury as he fights to prove he deserves to remain with the team after facing trade rumors in the offseason. The biggest threat to Young is Lou Williams who is starting to get an increased role on the team. Young made it clear that he is out to prove people wrong including head coach Scott.
"He finds ways to motivate players," Young said, via the OC Register. "And right now I'm very motivated to prove him wrong and prove the world that doubted Swaggy wrong. Even though I've been playing good offensively, I just ain't won nothing, man. Whatever it takes to get to the playoffs and win. ... I'm tired of being at Dave and Busters or Wingstop watching all the playoffs, you know?"
While the pressure is on Young, it is falling off Randle who is creating a lot of confidence in the future of the franchise. Russell and Clarkson represent the future of the point guard position, while Randle is looking like a key to the post Kobe Bryant era. After missing his entire rookie season, Randle has been thriving at this point in the preseason which has the Lakers feeling very good about where the team is headed.
"He was excellent," Bryant said, via ESPN.com. "He played extremely hard. He played extremely well. He put the ball on the floor, he made plays, attacked the rim, offensive glass, moved his feet defensively. He was very sharp. It's not normal to see a guy that size move his feet so well and have such quick hands and be able to push the ball on the break. It's pretty phenomenal."