The Los Angeles Lakers were without new addition and consistent starting power forward Ziaire Williams for three games while he was dealing with a foot injury, and though the young forward returned in the team’s previous game against the Miami Heat, his comments about the health issue sounded a bit concerning.
Before suffering the injury, Williams was a mainstay in the starting lineup. In his first game back, his role was taken by Jake LaRavia, and while he remains one of the Lakers’ most important defenders, head coach JJ Redick has yet to commit to him staying in the starting five after his brief setback.
But while Williams did make his injury return and said things felt ‘great’, another comment from the 25-year-old might be seen as a bit concerning, as a Lakers team would desperately want him to stay healthy amid the hot start to the season.
Lakers Get Concerning Ziaire Williams Injury Update Despite Return
In what could be a troubling sign for the Lakers, Williams said he never knew what the initial cause of his foot injury.
“I don’t (have an idea what caused soreness). Kind of just flared up out of nowhere,” Williams told reporters following Monday’s victory. “But we got some of the best doctors in the world and I’m in good hands. I’m here to stay [in the rotation], hopefully, as long as I can and I feel great right now. I’ll be back out there on Wednesday.”
Williams was officially ruled out of the Lakers’ game last week with left foot and heel soreness, and Redick said he was sidelined in what was a cautious decision for the team.
“JJ Redick says that both Luka Doncic and Ziaire Williams woke up sore after the Blazers game. He says the Lakers are being “cautious” with both of them by holding them out vs LAC as the team plays Game 2 out of a five games in seven days stretch,” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin wrote in a post on X.
Williams missed the Lakers’ following two games, but after a positive injury update from Redick, he made his return in the team’s Monday night win over the Heat.
“JJ Redick said imaging on Ziaire Williams’ foot has come back clean. Described the ailment as “soreness that pops up in morning” before adding that Ziaire’s doing better and the team is being cautious with the back-to-back,” Khobi Price reported before Williams made his injury return.
It also looks like the Lakers will continue to take a cautious approach with Williams after the injury. Redick didn’t indicate he was on a restriction, but he was left off the starting lineup and played in just 15 minutes.
Los Angeles Should Still Feel Good After His Injury Return
Despite Williams’ somewhat concerning comments about the unknown cause of his injury, and the potential risk for it to flare up again as the season goes on, his comments after the return should be considered good news for the team.
“Yeah, it was great,” Williams said. “All the glory to God. I felt good out there. Happy to be back with my teammates. Big shoutout to my training staff and the people behind the scenes that helped me get back out there. Definitely appreciative.”
Even though he’s on a minimum contract this season, Williams has been one of the Lakers’ most important players so far, on both sides of the ball.
He has incredible 55.9/47.6/85.7 shooting splits and ranks fourth on the team in minutes per game. Williams is also averaging 1.4 steals and has been a huge help in upgrading the team’s perimeter defense.
“I think he has a really good intent on the defensive end and I think he loves the challenge of guarding other teams’ star players,” Redick said of Williams before the season. “And has the physical tools to do that, seemed like every time we played against Brooklyn he made a lot of shots too. If you look at his catch and shoot numbers and open three numbers the last couple of years, they’ve been consistent.”
So far, that’s all been accurate, and while Williams did miss three games with the foot injury, he’s back healthy. It’s uncertain if he’ll rejoin the starting lineup or not for the Lakers’ Wednesday night game against the Sacramento Kings, but after his comments about the unknown cause of his injury, it might be smart for the coaching staff to remain cautious with his minutes.
Five games into his Lakers career, Williams is averaging 10.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while being the second-most efficient wing shooter for the team this season.
Lakers Get Concerning Injury News On Key Starter Ahead Of Kings Game