Adou Thiero is not listed on the Los Angeles Lakers’ injury report ahead of Friday’s NBA Cup group game against the Portland Trail Blazers, making him available for his season debut. He is not expected to have a significant rotation role right away.
Thiero missed the Lakers’ first nine games with inflammation in his left knee, which swelled during the preseason in early October. It is the same knee he had surgically repaired after an injury that cost him most of his rookie season, and the Lakers managed the inflammation rather than rush him back.
Speaking to reporters on Nov. 3, head coach JJ Redick said Thiero was trending in the right direction. Four players appear on Friday’s report: Bronny James and Cameron Carr are out on G League assignment, Walker Kessler is available with a splint on his left finger, and Sandro Mamukelashvili is questionable with an illness.
A Cautious Return After a Managed Preseason
The Lakers have treated this knee as something to manage rather than something cleared and forgotten. Making Thiero available for Friday while signaling he will not play significant minutes points to a slow integration rather than an immediate rotation boost.
That is the easier call to make at 7-2. With eight players averaging 23 minutes or more a night, there is no rotation hole Thiero has to fill in his first game back.
Mamukelashvili’s Illness Is the Likeliest Route to Minutes
Redick has not committed to playing Thiero against Portland despite his availability. If Mamukelashvili is ruled out before tip-off, the Lakers would be a frontcourt body short, and that is the most plausible path to Thiero seeing the floor Friday night.
Leave a Reply