The Los Angeles Lakers did not want to hear this.
After the lengthy back rehab process for Dwight Howard, the left foot injury to Steve Blake and the foot soreness for Kobe Bryant, the Lakers have to deal with another injury, this time to backup forward Jordan Hill.
Hill suffered the back injury during the Lakers’ pre-season opener against the Golden State Warriors and according to the team, he suffered a herniated disc in his back. The Lakers were already without Dwight Howard for the game and it is almost certain that neither Howard nor Hill will suit up for the next pre-season game.
According to ESPN contributor Dr Robert Klapper, Hill’s back injury may be something that sidelines him for a while.
@lakers fans, Jordan Hill’s L5, S1 disc injury potentially can be MORE severe than Dwight’s. I’ll explain tomo at 7:30am w/ @mark_t_willard
— Dr. Robert Klapper (@DrRobertKlapper) October 9, 2012
The Lakers will make it through the pre-season without their two big men as rookie Robert Sacre will likely take over the minutes, but once the regular seasons comes around, problems may arise. Hill is a promising young big man and the Lakers were hoping he would help out Howard until Howard gets into full basketball shape. However, it seems as though Howard will be the one on the court on opening night while Hill sits on the bench.
At this point it is unclear how long Hill will be out for, but the Lakers are hoping for the best.
