is just wanting to get better every single day and never really

CHICAGO -- The Los Angeles Lakers will be without Nick Young for two to four weeks due to a strained right calf muscle, adding another injury to an already depleted backcourt.Young was hurt in the first quarter Tuesday night in a 105-88 loss at New Orleans. He had an MRI on Wednesday in Chicago.Hes been playing great, such a huge part of what weve done so far, first-year coach Luke Walton said. Obviously, its a big blow to our team and what were trying to do, but thats part of life in the NBA. So well figure it out and keep going forward.Los Angeles already was missing DAngelo Russell, who has been hampered by left knee soreness. Forward Julius Randle, who helped the Lakers to a 96-90 victory over the Bulls on Wednesday night, missed three games with a hip injury before returning against the Pelicans.Russell hasnt played since Nov. 20, missing six straight games. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection last Wednesday, but is believed to be at least another week away from returning.Its coming along, Walton said. He did some non-weight-bearing underwater treadmill the other day in New Orleans and says his knee feels good. But again, its nothing were going to rush.Young came up lame after trying to defend Tim Fraziers fast-break layup. He hopped on his left leg to the scorers table and then went to the floor to await trainers.He was eventually carried off the court toward the visitors locker room.Cant catch a break, Young said, especially with the run were on, its a crucial time for us. Weve been going up and down, trying to stay in the playoff race, and do all the things we want to do. Its tough.There was some concern that Young had a more serious Achilles injury, but the MRI revealed the calf issue.Thats what I feel more better about, Young said, that it aint the worst and its something I can come back from quicker than sitting out a whole year.The 31-year-old Young is averaging 13.3 points in 18 games. He also is shooting 41.8 percent (46 for 110) from 3-point range.Rookie Brandon Ingram started in Youngs spot against Chicago, removing the No. 2 overall pick in the June draft from what has been a potent group of reserves for Los Angeles. The Lakers were leading the NBA in bench scoring with 52.4 points per game coming into the day.Well take it night to night depending on who were playing, Walton said.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Brewers Jerseys 2019 . 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She might be the anointed flag-bearer for the next generation of American female tennis stars, but Keys has never really liked the burden of trying to match Williams or appease an impatient public wanting more. And why should she? Williams has 22 Grand Slam singles titles; Keys has none. At least for now.Unlike Williams, who had completed her own career Grand Slam by the time she was old enough to buy booze legally, Keys is still a work in progress at 21. But that doesnt mean shes not doing great things.But those great things will have to wait, at least for now. On Thursday night in Singapore, world No. 1 Angelique Kerber?presented Keys a tennis master class. Although Kerber had already qualified for the knockout phase and knew Keys would join her in the last four if the American won at least one set, Kerber played pristine tennis once again, winning 6-3, 6-3.I let nerves get the best of me, and I think that happens to everyone, Keys said afterward. Just something that I need to work on. Its not a bad thing. It happens to a lot of people. People figure it out. Obviously Im not the best at it, at 21. But hopefully there is a couple more years to figure that out.Keys is still on a sharp learning curve and remains her own harshest critic. Her biggest takeaway from Singapore was not what went right but went wrong. She knows she has a rocket of a serve and booming groundstrokes that should have been ideally suited to the indoor hard courts where the finals are played, but she also knows she made too many mistakes to be able to rattle her more seasoned opponents.I think one big thing for me that I need to work on is being able to separate my feelings and emotions from my matches, Keys said. I think when its a high-stress situation, my tennis definitely takes a big dip. Thats something Im gonna have to work on.This is obviously my first experience in a setting like this.Ranked seventh in the world, she was the youngest player to qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore, reserved for the worlds elite top eight. She didnt make the semifinals after losing to Kerber and the fourth-ranked Simona Halep but did manage a win against the vastly more experienced Dominika Cibulkova -- no small feat.ddddddddddddOverall, its an amazing experience to be here, she told reporters in Singapore. I worked really hard to get here, so Im proud of myself for that.Keys earned her place in the WTA Finals the old-fashioned way: slogging it out all season long and accruing the points through consistency rather than with one big breakthrough. She did capture her second WTA Tour title, at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England, in June, and made the final at the Italian Open and Canadian Open. But the bulk of her points came from reaching the round of 16 at all four Grand Slam tournaments.Ive gotten a lot better at figuring matches out when I wasnt necessarily playing well, Keys said. That was a big goal of mine. Thats something that I can use all of next year and years to come. I think the biggest thing is just wanting to get better every single day and never really being completely happy. I think pushing myself like that has really helped me get to where I am.If Keys requires some fresh inspiration, she needs look no further than Kerber. At 28, Kerber is the oldest woman to reach the No. 1 ranking and is in the best form of her life, winning the Australian Open and US Open titles this year. A perennial underachiever for most of her career, the German is now a model of calmness and efficiency.Before this week, Kerber had managed just one win in three trips to the WTA Finals. This time shes 3-0, safely through to the semifinals and the favorite to win the title.For Keys, rather than feeling deflated after being beaten up by another older opponent, she was actually grateful for the schooling.It just makes you realize it doesnt all have to happen right now, she said. Sometimes you have to give yourself a break. I think it just shows that tennis is evolving a little bit. People arent winning Slams at 21 anymore. Its later.Angelique made No. 1 in the world at 28; that wasnt happening before. So that just gives me a little bit of relief. It feels like I dont have to figure it all out tomorrow. ' ' '