Lakers’ all-star PG D’Angelo Russell eyeing Friday vs the Raptors as his return from an ankle sprain

The Lakers made some important acquisitions at the trade deadline this season, one of them being all-star PG D’Angelo Russell. However, he’s missed the last six games in a row after playing in four since the trade. His team needs his production on the court as LeBron James is still out with a right foot injury. Luckily, head coach Darvin Ham had some good news last night and said Russell will likely return Friday when the Lakers play the Raptors. 

Russell played and started in 54 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season before he was traded at the deadline back to the Lakers. He’s played jut four games for LA so far and has missed eight total. Anthony Davis has been trying to hold the Lakers in tact while LeBron is out and getting Russell back would be huge.

NBA betting sites have the Lakers at (+2200) to win the Finals this season.

Ham said the Lakers are targeting Friday for D'Lo's return, but will go through some reps with a "play group" tomorrow before he is fully cleared to return

— Cooper Halpern (@CooperHalpern) March 8, 2023

D’Angelo Russell should return Friday for the Laker barring any setbacks

There was a chance that Russell was going to play last night vs Memphis, but was ruled out prior to the start of the game. He was listed as questionable and he participated in some pregame warm-up tests. If all goes well we should likely see him back on the court to help the Lakers get as many wins as they can before the regular season ends.

In four games played since being traded back to the Lakers, Russell is averaging (13.5) points, (3.5) rebounds, and (5.0) assists per game. He was playing a smaller role with (24.8) minutes per game, but should see more playing time as the team needs him to take some of the pressure of Davis.

.@ShamsCharania: “They’ve needed [Anthony Davis] to step up, he’s done exactly that… look for D'Angelo Russell to be back in the lineup for the Lakers on Friday”

With LeBron out for at least the next couple weeks, can the Lakers continue to play well without him? 👀#RunItBack pic.twitter.com/zDvGGXCbhc

— FanDuel TV (@FanDuelTV) March 8, 2023

The Lakers need to stay as healthy as they can in the final stretch run before the playoffs. They cannot have any more significant injuries. Who knows if LeBron will even be 100% come playoffs and if he’ll be his normal self. With their recent success the Lakers are 7-3 in their last ten and are on a two-game win streak.

Russell’s return will be a huge boost to the team offensively and it will for sure lessen the load that Anthony Davis has been carrying. The Lakers are ninth in the Western Conference and are just two games back from sixth in the West with 16 regular season games left to play.