What is it about the Walton family and injuries?
Luke Walton’s pinched nerve in his back is acting up and not only is he going to miss Tuesday’s game against Golden State, he may be done for the season, says the OC Register’s Kevin Ding. He has been officially moved to the team’s inactive list with no timetable for a return, according to a team report.
The good news for the Lakers is Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum practiced with the team Monday and are both expected to play Tuesday.
Walton was expected to be a key contributor off the bench for the Lakers in the playoffs, he is the one player on the second unit that works well within the triangle offense. He also is an underrated defender. But back problems have limited him to just 24 games this season, and it looks like that is it.
Does that put pressure on the Lakers to make a trade deadline move? Phil Jackson said no after practice, it does not force them to. But the Lakers really have to be thinking about it now.