The Los Angeles Lakers' fears were confirmed on Monday afternoon when the team announced that Ryan Kelly would miss a minimum of six weeks after tearing his right hamstring.
Kelly spent all of training camp on the shelf with a hamstring injury before hurting his opposite hamstring. On Sunday night against the Golden State Warriors, Kelly drew some contact and landed. Immediately, he was unable to run. On the next whistle, he headed to the locker room.
With the Lakers taking off for Atlanta on Monday morning, Kelly stayed back and visited with Dr. Luga Podesta of Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic.
An ultrasound revealed that the 23-year-old had torn his right hamstring, and the prognosis called for six weeks on the shelf, at minimum. Only lasting one full game, Kelly averaged 3.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 8.2 minutes over three games in the 2014-15 season.
"I really like Ryan with the way he plays, and he knows how to play," Lakers' coach Byron Scott said after Sunday's loss to the Warriors. "He's going to give you everything he's got. Unfortunately for him and us, we haven't seen enough of that because of the injuries that he's had."
In his rookie season, Kelly often featured as a power forward that could stretch the floor. In 59 games, Kelly averaged 8.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 22.2 minutes. Scott said earlier that Kelly provided a different look, as none of the Lakers' other big guys can step outside and shoot three-pointers.
If the 23-year-old can recover in the minimum time listed, he should return at about the same time as the New Year. At that point, the 1-9 Lakers will be nearly 40 percent done with the 2014-15 season.
