The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a couple of significant blows in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
First, the the team dropped a four-game win streak to the 76ers in embarrassing fashion, losing by 14 points to Philly without stars Joel Embiid or Paul George on the court. Secondly, and more importantly, the team lost star big man Anthony Davis to an injury and will be without him for at least one week.
The team made an announcement on Davis’s status via its official X account on January 29.
“LAKERS MEDICAL UPDATE: Lakers forward Anthony Davis underwent an MRI today that confirmed an abdominal muscle strain,” the franchise wrote. “The injury occurred in the first quarter of Tuesday night’s game at Philadelphia. Davis will return to Los Angeles today and be re-evaluated in approximately one week.”
Anthony Davis Could Easily Miss More Than 1 Week
GettyAnthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers.
A re-evaluation doesn’t mean that Davis will return in one week. In reality, re-evaluations aren’t typically a benchmark for a player’s return to action, which means Davis is likely to miss more than just the next seven days.
Based on the Lakers’ schedule, Davis will miss three games over his initial absence. Los Angeles has four games after that date before the NBA’s All-Star break, including two against the Utah Jazz — the worst team in the Western Conference by record — and one against the Golden State Warriors, who currently occupy the No. 11 seed in the conference.
The Lakers’ final game before the break is February 12, and they won’t take the court again until February 19. It is possible the Lakers will err on the side of caution and keep the big man sidelined until the team takes on the Charlotte Hornets February 19.
That contest against the Hornets is the first of a back-to-back, which the teams will play in L.A. before the Lakers head north to face the struggling Portland Trail Blazers the following night. If Davis is still less than 100 percent, the team could hold him out of those two contests as well.
Lakers in Solid, but Precarious Position in Western Conference
Getty Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers.
To summarize, Davis is going to miss the next three games and could easily miss more. If L.A. decides to rest him through the All-Star break, he’s going to miss seven games. In what would seemingly be a worst-case scenario with his abdominal strain that keeps Davis out for more than three weeks, nine missed games appears the ceiling barring a new development.
The Lakers have a relatively manageable stretch of schedule over any of those windows, though they are currently on a multi-game road trip and two of the three contests Davis is guaranteed to sit out will come against the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers.
L.A.’s winning ways over the past handful of contests have given the franchise at least a modicum of breathing room in a desperately tight Western Conference. Getting into the playoffs is paramount, and avoiding the Play-In Tournament as the No. 6 seed or better is also important, but the Lakers must be at full health if they hope to make any kind of postseason run.
As such, fans should expect the team to proceed with an abundance of caution where Davis is concerned over the coming weeks.
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