LOS ANGELES_The Los Angeles Lakers are likely to be without their starting center again Friday night against the Golden State Warriors.
The team declared center Timofey Mozgov doubtful with a soft tissue contusion around his left eye. Mozgov missed a 123-116 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
Rookie second-round pick Ivica Zubac started in Mozgov's place against the Hawks. It was Zubac's first game active for the Lakers. Tarik Black remained the Lakers' backup center, as he is when Mozgov plays. Coach Luke Walton said he planned to start getting Zubac playing time soon, but Mozgov's injury sped up his timeline.
Zubac made all three of his shots and had a steal, but committed three early fouls while guarding Atlanta center Dwight Howard.
"Obviously he was in foul trouble, but Dwight can do that to pretty much any big in the league let alone a rookie who probably hasn't seen anything like that before," Walton said. "He didn't look nervous. He looked like he was excited to be out there. He made some good plays, had some good rebounds, was talking on defense. I was pleased with his effort."
There is some good news for Mozgov. He had a set of tests on Thursday morning that returned negative for an orbital fracture and negative for a concussion.
Mozgov suffered two injuries to his face on Tuesday night against Indiana Pacers guard Jeff Teague inadvertently elbowed Mozgov in the face during the third quarter. He left the game to be treated, then returned with the intention of getting stitches after the game.
A few minutes later, Mozgov was poked in the left eye, impairing his vision. He left the game for good to be treated for the eye contusion and also received four stitches for his mouth laceration.
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