Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell misses Thunder game with right hip soreness

LOS ANGELES — The Lakers are already feeling the squeeze of injuries these days. But in one of the most consequential games of the season, they had to make do without their starting point guard.

D’Angelo Russell was shelved Friday after receiving a medical evaluation for right hip soreness. Coach Darvin Ham said it was aggravated during Wednesday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns, and called the timeline “day-to-day.”

“It’s not too serious, but serious enough where we need to manage it,” Ham said, “thus the decision for him to be out.”

Considering the stakes of the game – a tiebreaker against an Oklahoma City squad that has been one of the hottest teams in the NBA over the past month – it registered as a disappointment to not have Russell, who has been one of the team’s best 3-point shooters and playmakers since being acquired at the trade deadline. It was all the more of a setback on a night when the Thunder were able to play star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a back-to-back set for the first time in more than a month.

Russell is averaging 18.6 points and 6.4 assists while shooting 39.5% from 3-point range (on 6.9 attempts per game) in his return to the franchise that drafted him. But he’s also only played in 11 games since arriving from Minnesota via trade last month, thanks to a sprained ankle that kept him out for six straight.

The Lakers are in the middle of a tumultuous Western Conference standings battle that has seen them rise and fall nearly every night. Ideally, they’d like Russell – who will be a free agent this summer – to be a part of the effort to ensure they’ll be back in the playoffs. But Ham stopped short of calling Russell’s latest medical setback a “disappointment,” even with just eight games left in the regular season.

“Well, it’s unfortunate no doubt, but it’s professional sports and it’s a reality of our business here in the NBA,” he said. “So you have to just manage it as best you can in terms of rearranging your rotation, but we have capable guys.”

In Ham’s case, he has Dennis Schröder, who started his 48th game of the season. The lineup was the league-leading 37th different combination the Lakers have used this season.

Ham also kept Austin Reaves in the starting lineup: The second-year guard scored 60 points in his previous two games, and figures to be a huge part of the Lakers’ game plan for the remainder of the season, especially with Russell’s availability in question. Reaves is likely moving up opponents’ scouting reports, Ham said, but he trusts him to play within his means.

“I mean Austin is a kid who is highly intelligent, and just goes about his business,” Ham said. “He’s gonna be aggressive, but he’s not gonna force himself into a bad play. He’s gonna play the right way. And as long as we continue being disciplined in our running habits and setting good screens and moving the ball with pace and making quick decisions, I think we’ll be all right offensively.”