Luke Walton Health Update

Lakers’ forward Luke Walton was sidelined when the Lakers played Portland Sunday due to a sore right foot, but was scheduled to see a foot specialist on Monday. The specialist, Keneth Jung, was expected to determine the extent of Walton’s injury. It is expected that he is experiencing sesamoiditis, a condition in which there is irritation in the sesamoids (small bones bundled with tendons that run to the big toe); the condition usually requires a to-be-determined rest period but luckily Walton will most likely not have to go under the knife.

Walton was averaging 5.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists since moving into the starting lineup, where he has started 11 consecutive games at small forward.  Walton’s foot first began hurting before Friday’s game against Utah and his conditioned worsened after Saturday’s practice, rendering him unable to play Sunday. Walton told the L.A. Times, “Every time I step on it, it hurts. Every time I extend my foot, it hurts. It’s something I tried to push through, but the more I ran on it, the worse it felt. It’s like there’s a burning rod being stuck in it.” Walton was replaced by Trevor Ariza on Sunday.

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