Things took an even greater turn for the worse late in the Lakers' blowout opening night loss to the Rockets when Los Angeles rookie Julius Randle took a bad step, crumpled to the floor, and had to be carried out on a stretcher. The diagnosis from the floor, via TNT's Rachel Nichols, was a broken right leg.
Lakers coach Byron Scott after the game confirmed Randle fractured his right tibia, and that the rookie would be transferred to a local hospital for further evaluation.
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The injury is a devastating blow to the Lakers on the very first night of the season, and a grim start to Randle's promising NBA career. Randle was driving to the rim when he planted his right foot then kicked his right leg with his left foot as he went up. He was in immediate pain when he went down to the court and remained down for several minutes. The training staff put an air cast over his right leg while his teammates helped load him onto a stretcher.
The Lakers selected the 19-year-old Randle with the No. 7 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Randle's status for the season was in question during the offseason with reports swirling that he'd need foot surgery. That proved not to be true and he was medically cleared in July. He previously had surgery on his right foot during his senior year of high school.