Lakers: Avery Bradley Will Not Require Surgery on His Injured Thumb And Will Be Available
The Lakers have not had much luck in terms of roster health to start the season. It seems like for most of the early going, guys have gone down with various injuries at some of the worst times. Los Angeles has still yet to see Trevor Ariza or Kendrick Nunn so far as well.
But it looks as if they finally caught a bit of a break. The Lakers revealed this week that Avery Bradley will NOT need to undergo surgery to repair a strained UCL in his thumb.
The Lakers guard sustained the thumb injury in the contest against the Pistons last Sunday. Bradley has yet to play since the injury, and there were fears that he would miss significant time if he did need to have surgery on that thumb.
Instead, Bradley is available tonight in Los Angeles against the Clippers. Frank Vogel said on Thursday that Bradley would be available but was not sure if he would actually have him play. Bradley will also reportedly wear a splint on his thumb while he continues to recover.
For the most part, Bradley has not been much of a difference-maker for the Lakers. But he does provide that bench depth that Vogel lacked in the season following their championship run in 2020.
He is shooting 35 percent from three-point range and averaging just 5 points per game in just over 22 minutes per game. And while his defense may not reflect the value that he brings to the team, he has also been the victim of being caught in some pretty unfortunate rotations.
