Things went as smoothly as they could for Damian Jones on his Los Angeles Lakers debut. At 8:23 against his former team, the Golden State Warriors, the 25-year-old center-back recorded 8 points out of a perfect 3-3 on the field, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Unfortunately, Jones’ night was interrupted due to what the Lakers are listing as a low back sprain. Jones will move on from day to day, but told reporters he felt good after the game.
“It’s just a little bit of rigidity now,” said Jones. “I feel it will be good in a few days or when we know. It is nothing very important. “
The good news for the Lakers is that Jones’ injury is unlikely to be the difference between winning and losing the last two games before the All-Star break. After all, Jones only saw the ground on Sunday because the game had been decided long before he entered the control table.
The real loser in this situation is Jones, who may have just one game with the Lakers on his resume when his 10-day contract ends. I think it was good that he made such an impression on Sunday.
If the Lakers decide to sign Jones a second 10-day contract based on how little they’ve seen of him so far, they probably won’t do it until closer to March 12, when the second half of the season is set to begin. Hopefully, by then, he’ll be healthy enough to defend one of the squad’s final spots.
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