Nick Young will likely not appear in the final seven games of the 2014/15 season, Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott revealed after Saturday's practice in El Segundo. Young suffered a minor fracture in his left knee cap and appears in line to miss the final 27 games of the season due to the injury.
"My feeling really is that with 7 games left, he probably won't play the rest of the season," Scott said about Young, while also revealing he had not even recently approached athletic trainer Gary Vitti for an update.
Scott added, "The last report that i did get on him, which was when we were on the road, (was) that he wasn't making much progress."
If Young is done for the season, he will become the seventh Lakers to end his season due to injury: Steve Nash, Julius Randle, Xavier Henry, Kobe Bryant, Ronnie Price, Wayne Ellington and Young. While the Lakers did not appear in line for a title run entering training camp, injuries forced the Lakers to the depths of the Western Conference and a historically bad season. With Friday's loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, the Lakers have guaranteed that they will finish the season with the worst record since the team moved from Minneapolis to LA. If the 2014/15 Lakers don't win two of their final five games, they would eclipse that horrendous 1957/58 team, too.
"Being out as long as he's been out with 7 games to go, I don't see how he can probably play," Scott explained why Young likely would not return even if he received medical clearance. "He'd have to get back into game condition and things like that, so I don't think there's a chance that he's going to play in the next week or so."
Asked if there would be any reason to bringing Young back at this advanced stage in the season, Scott responded, "Not really."
The Lakers' coach acknowledged Young's desire to return, but the coach imagined the only advantage to having the 29-year-old back on the court would be to provide Wesley Johnson a rest. Johnson is the only healthy small forward on the Lakers' roster. Previously, Ryan Kelly had played minutes at the position, but the Lakers have allowed the second year power forward to slide back over to his natural position. With Kelly playing well at power forward, the Lakers remain thin at the small forward position.
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With only seven games remaining and no reason to rush back a player that is on contract past the current season, Young's season appears to be over--even if that decision has not been officially made.
