Troy Daniels Injury Update: Lakers’ Guard Hopes to be ‘Back in no Time’

Flying under the radar compared to the media firestorm surrounding the standoff with the Chinese government, Lakers’ guard Troy Daniels quietly suffered a left knee injury. Coming off a stellar performance in his first preseason game against the Warriors, Daniels looks to be one of the Lakers’ key bench players with his ability to defend and shoot the three-pointer.

Troy Daniels Injury Update: Lakers’ Guard Hopes to be ‘Back In No Time’

The only news so far has come from Lakers’ reporter Mike Trudell as well as a brief Instagram story from Daniels himself. Daniels mentioned in his story that he hopes to be “back in no time” and showed himself putting in some work on the court before the Lakers’ game against the Nets on Thursday morning.

In his place, Avery Bradley, Danny Green, and Alex Caruso all saw increased minutes compared to their first game against the Warriors. That said, Daniels’ presence was missed down the stretch as the Lakers’ bench struggled to consistently score and make defensive stops. Daniels’ ability to not only stretch the floor but adequately defend the perimeter would have been a much-needed as the team was outscored by six points in the final quarter en route to a 114-111 loss.

Daniels has yet to have a real opportunity to show off what he can do at the NBA level, averaging fewer than 20 minutes per game in all but one of his NBA seasons. That said, his per-36 numbers are extremely solid, indicating that given a full starter’s workload, he would be a very serviceable option. On his career, Daniels has averaged 16.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals when his numbers are extrapolated to a starter’s workload.

Lakers vs Nets Part 2 Preview

Heading into the first preseason game between the Nets and Lakers, there was a growing concern that the game would not even be played. In the wake of Daryl Morey’s now-infamous tweet, heaps of Chinese NBA sponsors pulled out. Billboards in China promoting the game were taken down and media availability for both teams was canceled by the Chinese government (and later the remaining media appearances for the trip were canceled by the NBA).

Despite the distractions, the game went on according to plan – although the game was pulled from being aired on Chinese airwaves. The Nets picked up a 114-111 win over the Lakers as they closed out the game with some strong defense to overtake the lead. The Nets played mostly starters and key rotational members down the stretch, posing a bit of a mismatch for the Lakers’ bench. DeAndre Jordan made a number of crucial blocks late to help seal the deal.

While Davis and James put together strong statistical performances, neither was as efficient as they would have liked while scoring the basketball. It seems the Nets plan to use their starters to practice closing out games in the preseason so getting off to a strong start and building a solid lead from the jump becomes that much more important knowing the Nets should have an advantage on the court in the game’s closing minutes.