Lakers rookie Brandon Ingram acquits himself well in first NBA start
Nothing was easy about Brandon Ingram’s first start. He guarded Kevin Durant. Draymond Green guarded him. The Lakers rookie found himself thrown into some of the toughest matchups in the league right away.
It was a “welcome to the NBA” moment, certainly, but Ingram refused to frame it that way.
“I’m in the NBA now,” Ingram said. “Guarding a lot of guys, there’s a lot of different guys in this league so it’s not a surprise anymore, it’s just going out there and trying to compete.”
Ingram started in place of Julius Randle, who sat out the game Wednesday because of a hip pointer/oblique injury. Randle hopes to be able to play Friday against the Golden State Warriors. He even said before Wednesday’s game that if the Lakers were not playing on consecutive nights, he might have been able to avoid missing a game.
The Lakers could be without starting shooting guard Nick Young, who jammed the second toe on his left foot and sprained it. Young is listed as questionable for Friday’s game. They’ll also be without starting point guard D’Angelo Russell for what’s expected to be two weeks.
“We’re getting hit by the injury bug,” Young said. “Miss my man Russell out there, and Randle. We needed those guys tonight.”
Russell had a platelet-rich plasma injection in his left knee, a procedure by…