An MRI exam on the bruised left quad of Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope showed no structural damage with one of the team’s best wing defenders listed as day-to-day.
With the Lakers off Friday and scheduled for a light practice Saturday, Caldwell-Pope has two days to heal with the hope of playing Sunday in Game 4 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series that L.A. leads 2-1 over the Phoenix Suns.
Caldwell-Pope was injured in Game 3 on Thursday night at Staples Center when he ran into Suns All-Star guard Devin Booker, who stopped coming off a screen and extended his body so the Lakers guard would run into him.
After the game, Caldwell-Pope said he was “sore, but I’m doing well.”
“I’ve got two days for rest and recovery, and I hope I’m ready to go Sunday,” he added Thursday night in a videoconference.
Caldwell-Pope hasn’t shot the ball well in the series, making just 23.5% of his field goals and just 7.7% of his three-pointers. He has good been on defense, making Booker work hard for his buckets.
“It’s very challenging. He’s a scorer. And he scores in many different ways,” Caldwell-Pope said Thursday night. “I just try to stay attached as much as possible. Try to crowd him in spaces where he’s comfortable. Try to get him out of a rhythm, try to keep him out of a rhythm the whole game, speed him up. It’s been challenging. I feel like I’m in shape to guard him the whole game like that, and I feel good. Yeah, it’s all about pressuring him and keeping him out of that rhythm and making him uncomfortable.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.