Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick revealed before their 111-88 win over the Washington Wizards at Crypto.com Arena that Dorian Finney-Smith has been on a minutes restriction. The reason for it was an ankle injury Finney-Smith suffered with the Brooklyn Nets and the forward was asked about his health postgame.
“Just fighting through injuries,” Finney-Smith said. “Me being me, not wanting to sit probably made it worse earlier in the year. I got a shot before a game and I played the next game, so sometimes I hurt myself. Shout out to them, the staff, and the trainers in there.
“They helping me, saving myself from making it even worse,” Finney-Smith added. “I be begging to play more minutes, but it is what it is.”
Finney-Smith, who had 16 points (6-8 FG) and two rebounds against the Wizards, praised the Lakers’ medical staff for saving him from himself, something the Nets’ staff didn’t seem interested in doing. They had no problem with him taking injections and playing through the pain, which unsurprisingly worsened his condition.
This game against the Wizards was Finney-Smith’s eighth with the Lakers and his still being on a minutes restriction suggests it is not a minor issue. The fact that the Nets had him play nearly 30 minutes per game over his last outings for them despite his knee being in such a condition is surprising.
The 14-30 Nets are in rebuild mode and teams in their position usually look for every excuse in the book to not play their veterans. They seem to have decided against doing that when it came to Finney-Smith, though, which is odd.
It sure appears as if Finney-Smith doesn’t look back too fondly on his time with the Nets. This was, in fact, the second time he had taken a shot at them after being traded.
During an interview at practice before his Lakers debut, Finney-Smith threw shade at the Nets and the Los Angeles Clippers. The 31-year-old expressed his happiness at playing for the “big brother” in Los Angeles after playing for the “little brother” in New York. He is thrilled to be a Laker and has gotten off to a good start with them as well.
We should also expect to see Finney-Smith on the court a lot more from now on. Redick revealed pregame that he had been given the green light to up the minutes restriction from 20 to 24 minutes. He added the hope is that eventually, Finney-Smith will average around 29 minutes per game.
Dorian Finney-Smith Spoke About Playing With LeBron James And Anthony Davis
Finney-Smith has now been around LeBron James and Anthony Davis for almost a month and he’s been quite impressed by them. In his courtside interview postgame, the forward was asked what he had noticed about James and Davis since becoming their teammate and spoke glowingly of them.
“Just how much of a problem AD is on both ends of the floor, which we already knew,” Finney-Smith said. “And Bron, he be calling plays before they even happen. He tells you when you going to be open before it even happens. So, it’s just amazing when you play with guys who have been through it all and got championships so I’m just trying to learn and bring my energy.”
Finney-Smith has certainly been bringing some energy when he is on the court despite not being fully healthy. He has been defending well too and is showing why the Lakers were widely praised for acquiring him from the Nets. It will be interesting to see just how well he performs when he is finally able to shake off that ankle problem.
Finney-Smith will be in action next when the 23-18 Lakers take on the 30-13 Boston Celtics at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday at 10 PM ET. It will be one of their most difficult games of the season and they’ll have to be at their very best to get the win.
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