Lakers' Mo Bamba Out for WCF Game 1 vs. Nuggets Because of Ankle Injury

The Los Angeles Lakers will reportedly have one fewer big man to throw at Nikola Jokić for Tuesday's Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported center Mo Bamba will have his left ankle injury evaluated Tuesday and was considered "doubtful" for the opening contest of the series against the Denver Nuggets. He was not with the team for Monday's practice in Denver.

Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times then reported he will miss Game 1.

Los Angeles acquired Bamba from the Orlando Magic as one of a series of moves ahead of the deadline that transformed the roster and also brought in D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley.

There may have also been some addition by subtraction with the ability to move Russell Westbrook elsewhere and create a better roster fit around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Bamba was seen as a potential backup to Davis who would give the Lakers more size in the frontcourt, but that never truly materialized. The 7-footer appeared in just nine regular-season games for the Purple and Gold and averaged 3.7 points and 4.6 boards in 9.8 minutes per night as a minor contributor.

The Texas product has been even more of an afterthought in the postseason, appearing in just three games and failing to register a single point in 10 total minutes.

He hasn't played a game since April 28 in the first round against the Memphis Grizzlies and missed the second-round victory over the Golden State Warriors. He told Marc J. Spears of Andscape he thought he might be able to return for the Western Conference Finals.

It seems like that return will have to wait until at least Game 2, which means the Lakers will likely continue to rely on Rui Hachimura, Wenyen Gabriel and perhaps even Tristan Thompson in the frontcourt outside of Davis.

Their fortunes will likely come down to how well Davis matches up with Jokić, but having as much depth as possible wouldn't hurt.