The Wednesday night ESPN national telecast between the Lakers and the Warriors is down two more bodies.
Golden State has already become the walking wounded, as Stephen Curry, Kevon Looney, Damion Lee, and Omari Spellman are all out with injuries — along with the possible season-long absence of Klay Thompson. Now, Los Angeles will also be without two rotation players – Anthony Davis and Rajon Rondo.
Davis was officially listed as doubtful by the Lakers, but the Los Angeles Times and ESPN both reported that Davis will sit the second night of the team’s back-to-back. The superstar forward has been dealing with shoulder pain for a couple of weeks that was further aggravated on a block against Toronto Sunday, and he sustained a hit to the rib in Tuesday’s win over the Suns. Given that the Lakers should be comfortable favorites against the Warriors with or without Davis, the game appears to be a prime opportunity for Davis to get some well-deserved rest.
Rondo played in his first game this season Tuesday and was held to a minutes restriction of 15 minutes. As the 33-year-old continues to recover from a calf injury that cut short his preseason and held him out of the team’s first nine games, the Lakers are being cautious with his workload by preventing Rondo from playing on consecutive days.
Kyle Kuzma, who had his best game on Tuesday since returning from his own preseason injury, will likely start in place of Davis.
