:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70469677/1238163224.0.jpg)
After playing 33 minutes off the bench in a win vs. the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, Lakers veteran Carmelo Anthony came up gimpy on a mid-range jumper during the second quarter of the team’s 111-110 loss to the LA Clippers on Thursday.
Anthony immediately started limping after grabbing for his right leg, and quickly motioned to the Lakers to call timeout so he could leave the floor. The team did so after being scored on in transition, and the 37-year-old didn’t break stride as he immediately walked off the floor.
The team later announced that he would miss the rest of the game with a hamstring strain, an injury head coach Frank Vogel said Anthony would have reevaluated on Friday.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, he has likely avoided a “serious” injury, but will miss the team’s next game against the New York Knicks on Saturday:
There’s optimism that Carmelo Anthony’s right hamstring strain isn’t serious and he’s expected to be day-to-day on a return to the Lakers lineup, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 4, 2022
ESPN Sources: Lakers F Carmelo Anthony is expected to miss Saturday’s game vs. the Knicks (ABC, 8:30 PM ET), which would give him four days of rest before re-evaluating his strained right hamstring ahead of Tuesday’s game vs. Milwaukee.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 5, 2022
Right hamstring injury for Carmelo Anthony. Timeline will depend on severity
— Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT (@3cbPerformance) February 4, 2022
The team will — at least theoretically — provide more details on Anthony’s potential timeline or official injury report designation soon.
Before his exit, Anthony had scored 7 points on 2-4 shooting in 11 minutes off the bench against the Clippers, and is averaging 13.6 points while shooting 38.9% from behind the arc on the season, serving as one of the purple and gold’s best floor spacers.
For as long as he is out, the team will be feeling the absence of LeBron James due to his own knee injury even more than they already were. Without those two, their depth at power forward otherwise includes just Trevor Ariza and Stanley Johnson, in addition to potentially forcing Anthony Davis to play a bit more at the 4 than he has since his return if the Lakers want to avoid being really, really small.
In short, the Lakers need James back as soon as possible, or things could get really, really wonky.
This story may be updated with more information as it continues to develop. For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.
Loading comments...