Lakers Injury Report: D'Angelo Russell Downgraded For Heat Game

The injuries are finally piling up for your Los Angeles Lakers.

Jovan Buha of The Athletic reports that reserve point guard D'Angelo Russell will miss his second straight game with a tailbone contusion tonight.

LA is slated to host the 19-14 Miami Heat this evening at Crypto.com Arena. Both teams look markedly different from their 2020 NBA Finals iterations. Only center Anthony Davis and All-NBA point forward LeBron James remain on the Lakers side, while just four Heat players have carried over from that 2019-20 team (All-NBA small forward Jimmy Butler, All-Star center Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson).

In his four healthy games since accepting his new bench role demotion from Darvin Ham, Russell is averaging 11 points on .517/.467/.778 shooting splits, 5.3 assists, and 1.5 rebounds across 21.2 minutes a night. His defensive lapses and inconsistent passing and shooting forced Ham's hand.

Power forward Rui Hachimura (left calf strain) and reserve point guard Gabe Vincent (left knee surgery) remain on the shelf for the Lakers. 

On the Heat side, Miami will be missing Butler, who's deal with foot inflammation. Wings Caleb Martin (ankle) and Josh Richardson (facet syndrome) may also not play, though at present neither has been officially ruled out for the night's festivities.