Although the Los Angeles Lakers got out of Staples Center with another home win Tuesday night, and again holding the NBA’s best record at 12-2, they didn’t get out unscathed. Kyle Kuzma’s left eye got caught by the finger of Oklahoma City’s Darius Bazley during a drive in the first half, causing blood to come from Kuzma’s eye and his eventual exit from the game.
Kuzma returned to the Lakers bench in his warm-ups where he cheered on his squad. But he did not reenter the game; he played only nine minutes on Tuesday. The decision for Kuzma not to reenter the game was made by coach Frank Vogel.
According to Silver Screen and Roll’s Harrison Faigen, Vogel said:
He was available. The medical team said if we really needed him we could put him back in. I used my better judgement. It didn’t look good, and I just felt like unless we absolutely needed him, let’s let the other guys handle the rest of the game.
Although the Kuzma injury looked gruesome on the court, it’s good to hear that it’s not too serious. Especially when you consider that Kuzma had already spent the last four months rehabbing from a stress reaction in his leg.
Now that the Lakers have a few days at home before they head out on their first four-game road trip of the season, Kuzma will presumably have time to let his eye abrasion heal before they kick off the trip against the same Thunder squad they played last night.
