Los Angeles Lakers guard Quentin Grimes is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game at the Milwaukee Bucks with a right finger sprain, an upgrade from being ruled out entirely for Monday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks. The Lakers enter the game on a six-game winning streak.
Grimes suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 121-116 win over the Detroit Pistons, when he left the game and did not return. Head coach JJ Redick said X-rays on the finger came back negative, describing the problem as swelling.
Speaking before the Hawks game, Redick said he was being cautious with it: “X-rays were negative. I mean, it’s just some swelling. It’s obviously a shooting wrist or shooting hand as well. So I think being cautious with it, and hopefully he’s back, you know, in the next game or so,” per Benjamin Royer of The Southern California News Group. A final call on Grimes is not expected until shortly before tipoff.
Grimes, who signed with the Lakers in free agency over the summer, has appeared in 11 games this season, including two starts, averaging a little over 26 minutes. Over that stretch he is averaging 8.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists on shooting splits of 43.1 percent from the field, 24.2 percent from three and 70.6 percent from the free-throw line.
Depth, Not Grimes, Has Carried the Streak
The Lakers have won six straight while Grimes — one of their offseason free-agent additions — has missed time and remains unresolved on the finger. That the streak has continued without him, alongside Austin Reaves’ own absence Monday, points to a roster deep enough to absorb backcourt injuries rather than one dependent on any single newcomer finding his footing.
Grimes’ uneven integration has been a minor subplot rather than a problem the Lakers have needed to solve to keep winning. His three-point rate is the one number that still argues for patience: 24.2 percent on 33 attempts is well below where a player signed partly for floor spacing needs to land.
A Questionable Tag This Late Usually Means a Pregame Decision
Grimes’ availability will not be settled until shortly before tipoff against the Bucks, which is what the questionable designation is for. After Milwaukee, the Lakers close their current road trip Sunday, Nov. 15, against the Phoenix Suns.
Sources: Benjamin Royer of The Southern California News Group; David Yapkowitz of ClutchPoints
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