The Los Angeles Lakers are staring at the possibility of losing Anthony Davis not only for one week as initially reported.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, an MRI confirmed Davis is nursing an abdominal muscle strain that caused him to leave in the first quarter of their 118-104 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, Jan. 28.
Davis “will return to L.A. immediately and be reevaluated in approximately one week,” McMenamin added.
But it could be more than just one week, according to Dr. Evan Jeffries, an NBA and NFL injury expert and owner of the San Diego-based Evolving Motion Physical Therapy.
“Anthony Davis will be re-evaluated in a week does not mean he will return in a week,” Dr. Jeffries said in a post on X. “Signals in between a grade I-II strain.”
Dr. Jeffries outlined in a separate X post that a grade I abdominal strain will take 7-to-10 days to recover. A grade II abdominal strain will need a 3-6 week recovery timeline.
It’s a tough blow for the Lakers, who were poised to extend their winning streak to five against the injury-hit 76ers until Davis left.
LeBron James’ Level of Concern
The Lakers went up 17-9 with Davis contributing four points and two rebounds. They were still leading 20-17 when Davis left.
“It’s challenging,” LeBron James told reporters after the Lakers never recovered from losing Davis in the first quarter.
The 76ers outscored the Lakers 48-32 in the second quarter after a tied first quarter.
“If he’s out from the beginning we have our gameplan set, we know what to expect, we know what our lineup is going to be,” James added. “When he goes down, any of our guys go down throughout the course of the game, it’s tough.”
Davis was having his best stretch of the season when the ill-timed injury happened.
He was dominant with a 20-40 game (42 points, 23 rebounds, two assists and two blocks) in their 112-107 win over the Charlotte Hornets to open their six-game East Coast trip on Monday, Jan. 27. Before that, he had 36 points and 13 rebounds with three assists, three steals and one block in their 118-108 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 25.
“When our best player goes out it’s always challenging, especially in the game,” James added. “I didn’t even realize until the second quarter when he didn’t come back in his regular minutes and I looked over the bench and he wasn’t over there, so I found out at halftime.
“Level of concern? I think he’ll be fine.”
But that was before James learned his co-star would be out at least for a week and possibly more.
Lakers’ Center Options
Jaxson Hayes is their only other legitimate center in the rotation. Christian Koloko and Trey Jemison III, both on a two-way contract, will back up Hayes while Davis is out.
Lakers coach JJ Redick can also go with Dorian Finney-Smith or Jarred Vanderbilt in small-ball variation.
However, both Finney-Smith and Vanderbilt are on a minute restriction.
Finney-Smith was dealing with an ankle sprain in Brooklyn before the trade to the Lakers, Redick revealed on Jan. 22.
On the other hand, Vanderbilt has yet to be cleared to play back-to-back nights so he was out against the 76ers. He has only logged a total of 25 minutes in his first two games since returning from a nearly one-year absence due to a foot injury.
Will Davis’ injury push the Lakers into desperation to trade for a center?
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Doctor Outlines Lakers Star Anthony Davis’ Recovery Timeline appeared first on Heavy Sports.