HONOLULU — For about 10 minutes, the collective thoughts of the Lakers’ players, coaches and fans were focused on the same wavelength: “Not again.”
Almost an entire year since Julius Randle’s rookie season was ended just 14 minutes into LA’s season opener, second-overall pick D’Angelo Russell went down after a brutal fall that required help from teammates to walk the 19-year-old off the floor and back to the locker room.
Fortunately for the Lakers, Russell, who was hurt after contesting a shot by Rudy Gobert, was diagnosed with simply a bruised glute — an ailment that the team wouldn’t have kept him from returning if it were a regular-season game.