Reports indicated during the Los Angeles Lakers game on Sunday night that Deandre Ayton left the game due to a right knee contusion.
According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the injury occurred when he collided with former Rutgers standout Ace Bailey.
“Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton left Sunday night's 108-106 win against the Utah Jazz midway through the second quarter with a right knee contusion.
“The injury occurred when Utah rookie Ace Bailey collided with Ayton's knee in the first quarter,” he wrote.
This would be a massive blow for the Lakers long term, if it were to be anything serious, as Ayton has quietly been one of the better centers in the Western Conference.
While he hasn't been elite to most standards, he's averaging 15.5 points and 8.4 rebounds.
After an offseason of many questioning about how he'd look in a Lakers jersey, not due to the talent but because of his lack of work ethic in other parts of his career, he's certainly quieted those.
When speaking to reporters after the game, head coach JJ Redick said he didn't have any update other than how the incident occurred. He didn't even know if he'd get an MRI on Monday or throughout the week.
“JJ Redick said postgame that Deandre Ayton got hit in his leg in the first half but didn't have an update other than that,” he told reporters.
The Lakers are in a good position in the standings, sitting in second place in the Western Conference. They also have a somewhat light schedule moving forward, playing the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday and not playing again until Friday against the Dallas Mavericks.
Ayton will miss Tuesday's game, but it remains uncertain when he'll return.
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