Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell probably won’t play on Sunday when the team plays against the Mavericks in Dallas.
“I doubt he will play on Sunday,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said Friday of Russell, who sprained his right ankle during the first quarter of Thursday night’s victory over the Golden State Warriors at the Crypto.com Arena.
Russell was injured when he stepped on the foot of Golden State’s Donte DiVincenzo as he entered the ball and rolled his ankle.
“He’s still going through a number of different treatment procedures,” Ham said after training. “There hasn’t really been an official word. It’s not sprained. Well, it’s sprained, I should say. There is no structural damage or anything. It becomes a daily activity, more or less.”
Ham said Russell was not getting an MRI on Friday, only “in-house treatment.”
‘I mean he’s good. I have seen him. He’s in a good mood,” said forward Jarred Vanderbilt. “I’ll leave that to the medical staff. I don’t know how long he’ll be out, or if he’s out. But I mean, I saw him this morning. He is in a good mood.”
In four games with the Lakers, Russell averaged 13.5 points, 5.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds.
He shoots 44.2% from the field, 35.3% from three-point range.
“He’s excited about what’s happening here and what he’s going to be a part of,” said Ham. “We are trying to get the ship in the right position so that we can move forward for the rest of the season. … The energy was great. He’s been great.
“Even though he’s unable to be physically active with the rest of the group, he’s here listening as we talk about Dallas. While he’s doing some things on the field, he’s standing there on the sidelines taking it all in and continuing to learn our system, our terminology. So it’s good man. It’s a good atmosphere.”
