Brandon Ingram Injury: Latest Roster Outlook for Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers guard Brandon Ingram is expected to miss the remainder of the season, according to a tweet from the team’s Twitter. The medical update stated that the former first-rounder “underwent further testing” on Friday, “which revealed a Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) in his arm.”

The guard had missed the previous 2 games for Los Angeles, which were losses to the Clippers and Denver Nuggets.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT), according to the Mayo Clinic, occurs when a blood clot (thrombus) forms in one or more of the deep veins in your body.

Deep vein thrombosis can be very serious because blood clots in your veins can break loose, travel through your bloodstream and lodge in your lungs, blocking blood flow (pulmonary embolism).

This comes on the heels of a report stating that Lebron James would spend the rest of the season on “minutes restriction.”

With Los Angeles sporting a 30-35 mark and sitting outside the Western Conference playoff picture, the Lakers need all hands on deck to fight for the No. 8 seed. They currently have a 99 percent chance at missing the postseason, including just under 1 percent at the final spot (per Playoff Status).

According to Silver Screen and Roll, Ingram didn’t practice with the team Tuesday.

The 6-foot-9 guard has averaged 18.3 points per game this season, shooting just under 50 percent from the field. He added 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game.

Let’s take a look at the roster heading into tonight’s game against the Boston Celtics (8:30 p.m. EST, ABC).

Lakers Roster and Lineup vs. Celtics

Head coach Luke Walton has started Reggie Bullock, a 6-foot-7 guard they received from Detroit last month. Against the Clippers, he mustered just 7 points on 3-for-10 shooting, including 0-for-7 from behind the arc. Over the last 4 games, the career 39 percent 3-point gunner has made just 2-of-15 attempts from deep.

Against the Nuggets, he added just 2 points and 2 rebounds in 20 minutes of action. The Lakers lost 115-99.

Without Ingram (or the “questionable” Kyle Kuzma), there’s really nowhere else for the Lakers to turn for a perimeter scorer with size. Bullock theoretically fills that role, as he’s averaged 11.7 points this season with both Detroit and Los Angeles.

How are Lakers fans feeling missing the bulk of Lebron James’ supporting cast? Silver Screen and Roll demonstrated a severe lack of confidence.

Earlier this season, we saw how the Lakers looked without James, their leading scorer, and it wasn’t pretty. However, we’ve yet to see what James looks like without his second and third options on offense.

If the Lakers are getting blown out by bad teams like the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies with Ingram and Kuzma each averaging nearly 20 points per game, how are they going to look with them sidelined?

There’s a decent chance we’ll find out on Wednesday when Los Angeles takes on Denver, who are the No. 2 team in the Western Conference. As Samuel L. Jackson once said, hold onto your butts.

Lakers Outlook Tonight vs. Celtics

Team Rankings gives Los Angeles a 41.1 percent chance of topping the Celtics, the No. 5 team in the East.

Playoff Status calculates that even with a win tonight at Staples Center, the Lakers’ playoff chances still be under 1 percent. Los Angeles took the first meeting of the season 129-128 at TD Garden on Feb. 7.

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