Lakers' Kyle Kuzma Exits with Bloodied Eye Injury vs. Thunder

Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma was forced to the locker room in the first half of Tuesday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder after suffering a brutal eye injury:

Kuzma took an elbow from Darius Bazley and ended up bloody with what was diagnosed as an eye abrasion, per Mike Trudell of Spectrum.

The forward had five points in nine minutes before coming out of the game. Though he was later cleared by the medical staff, he didn't return to the court.

The 2018-19 season was a mixed bag for Kuzma, who made strides in some areas and regressed in others. His scoring average improved from 16.1 to 18.7, but his three-point shooting dipped from 36.6 percent to 30.3 percent. He averaged nearly one fewer rebound per game (6.3 to 5.5) despite his playing time increasing as well.

Kuzma was one of the few players who stuck around in the offseason as the Lakers acquired Anthony Davis and cleared the decks for what proved to be an unsuccessful pursuit of Kawhi Leonard.

The 24-year-old missed the start of the season with a foot injury he suffered while playing for Team USA ahead of the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

The Lakers finally got their man when they added Anthony Davis, but the move meant sacrificing a lot of their depth. Then they lost DeMarcus Cousins to a torn ACL, which facilitated Dwight Howard's return to L.A.

Although the team's season doesn't rest solely on the health of Kuzma, he's a key piece of the frontcourt and helps shoulder some of the scoring and rebounding load from Davis and LeBron James. His absence will be felt as Los Angeles needs to lean even more on its two stars.