Lakers' Julius Randle: Doesn't play Thursday, despite active status

Randle (illness) didn't see the floor in a 96-88 loss to the Jazz on Thursday.

Analysis:

The Lakers announced prior to Thursday's tip off that Randle, who was recovering from a viral infection, would be available off the bench if needed, but coach Luke Walton decided to play it safe with the young big man and effectively gave him the night off. Tarik Black ended up picking up the start at power forward and logged 30 minutes, but provided just four points and two rebounds in Randle's stead, while neither Larry Nance nor Brandon Ingram provided much of a lift off the bench. The Lakers won't play again until Tuesday against the Nuggets, so expect Randle to be fully healthy by that point and ready to take on his usual workload as a member of the starting five.