After a poor performance against the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis took it upon himself to shoulder the blame and be better moving forward.
In a pivotal game against his former team the New Orleans Pelicans, Davis answered the call with a massive 35-point, 17-rebound performance that gave the Lakers the much-needed win. Los Angeles and New Orleans are in direct competition for one of the prized Play-In Tournament spots, and Davis made sure that his team wouldn’t walk as losers.
Davis is currently enjoying his best stretch of basketball during the 2022-23 season and it couldn’t come at a better time as LeBron James remains out with a foot injury. Davis himself looks completely over the stress injury he suffered earlier in the season and appears to be at 100 percent.
However, Darvin Ham said after the win that his star big man would be held out against the Houston Rockets because he hasn’t been cleared to play both games of a back-to-back, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“He’s not gonna play. He hasn’t been cleared. Even though he’s playing pain-free, we made an organizational decision starting with our team doctors to hold him out of back-to-backs. It’s just one of those things where even though he’s playing pain-free, it’s still an active injury so we have to monitor it, stick to the plan as we always have done and just go out there with our other guys and try to get a W and finish the trip the right way.”
While Davis isn’t happy to be sitting out, he understands what he’s dealing with a trusts his teammates to get the win without him, via Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group:
“Even though I’m not feeling pain and everything, it’s still an active injury; it’s still a stress reaction,” he said. “And we’re doing all the right things to make sure that I’m ready to go and I still need that day break. Obviously, it sucks. Good thing we got D-Lo (Russell) back and our guys, I think, are more than capable to go out and win a basketball game.”
Health should always come first and foremost, especially for Davis, who has been forced to sit on the bench due to injuries. However, that doesn’t make it any less frustrating for himself and the fans who want to see him dominating on a nightly basis.
The timing of things also doesn’t help as the Lakers are fighting for their playoff lives every game. Keeping Davis as healthy as possible is the obvious priority for the organization, though, so hopefully the rest of the roster is able to step up in his absence and keep the momentum going.
LeBron James does first on-court activity prior to win against Pelicans
Despite not playing, James looks like one of the players having the most fun watching the team play. James has been an active participant on the bench where he’s been seen offering some coaching advice as well as cheering on his teammates.
Although the King remains sidelined, he took a big step in his rehab as he completed his first on-court activity at shootaround prior to the Pelicans game.
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