Los Angeles Lakers

Lakers' Kobe Bryant, D'Angelo Russell questionable vs. Golden State

Published Jan. 5, 2016 4:55 p.m. ET

Jovan Buha

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and rookie point guard D'Angelo Russell are questionable to play against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Bryant has missed the past two games with a sore right shoulder, an issue Lakers coach Byron Scott said could affect him for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, Russell is battling a sore throat and will see a doctor this afternoon for his prognosis.

Both players sat out Tuesday's shootaround. Scott actually sent Russell home during Monday's practice and Tuesday's shootaround, claiming he did not look well at all:

"If he feels as bad as he looked, there's probably no way he's going to play," Lakers Coach Byron Scott said. "He looked bad."

If Bryant sits out, Scott said rookie swingman Anthony Brown will replace him in the starting lineup. Russell, who is still coming off the bench, doesn't have a clear replacement in the rotation, though one would assume that just means more minutes for Marcelo Huertas.

The last time the Lakers and Warriors met, Golden State crushed Los Angeles, 111-77, at Oracle Arena.

But with the Lakers (8-27) riding a three-game winning streak, Scott believes they have what it takes to give the Warriors (32-2) a decent run, via the Los Angeles Daily News:

“This is a great challenge. Right now, we want to see where we are and how much we’ve grown,” Scott said. “I think we have a chance tonight against the best team in the league to see that. We’ll see if we’ve grown a little bit on both ends of the floor. Let’s see how they compare to the first time we played them.”

Scott is clearly reaching to pump up his team -- the Lakers will almost certainly be crushed, especially without Bryant and Russell -- but that's okay. It's the NBA. Stranger things have happened.

(Just kidding. This is the Warriors we're talking about. It's going to be a blowout.)