Updates from Wednesday, Oct. 29
The Lakers provide an update on Julius Randle's injury:
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times initially reported the news:
Original Text:
Rookie forward Julius Randle represents a new era of Los Angeles Lakers basketball, but that progression was put on hold in the Lakers' 108-90 loss to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.
The Lakers revealed the rookie suffered a broken leg:
CNN's Rachel Nichols provides a glimpse of Randle being helped into an ambulance:
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN is reporting that Randle is having surgery to repair the damage:
Following a miserable 2013-14 season that saw the Lakers struggle without the services of superstar guard Kobe Bryant, they landed a nice consolation prize in selecting Randle seventh overall out of the University of Kentucky in the 2014 NBA draft.
Randle was a dominant force for John Calipari's Wildcats as he somewhat surprisingly helped lead them all the way to the national title game. He fell a bit further in the draft than most initially expected, but the Lakers had to be thrilled to secure him.
Although Randle is a supremely talented player, it became clear from the start that the Lakers intended to bring the 19-year-old phenom along slowly. With the acquisition of Carlos Boozer during the offseason, much of the pressure on Randle to be a primary complement to Kobe right off the bat was alleviated.
Even so, the expectations were still high from a statistical standpoint. Steve Kyler of BasketballInsiders.com figured Randle would at least come close to averaging a double-double per game in 2014-15:
If that wasn't enough, Randle started to draw comparisons to Hall of Fame players before even suiting up for a regular...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
