The Los Angeles Lakers have lost 13 of the 17 games since Anthony Davis suffered a mid-foot sprain in the last game before the All-Star break.
Only the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder have worse post-All-Star records than L.A. After Tuesday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the Lakers fell out of the Western Conference’s top-10 — meaning, as things stand, they wouldn’t qualify for the Play-In Tournament.
However, Davis might soon return to the court and help the Purple and Gold secure a Play-in spot. TNT and Yahoo’s Chris Haynes reports the 29-year-old could make his comeback as soon as this week against the New Orleans Pelicans or Denver Nuggets:
“As for Anthony Davis, if there are no setbacks, sources say the target return dates are either Friday at home against New Orleans or Sunday when Denver comes to visit.”
Haynes added LeBron James is expected to miss the Lakers’ clash with the Utah Jazz on Thursday due to the ankle injury he suffered in Sunday’s loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
If the Lakers want to have any hope of salvaging this season then it would require both Davis and James coming back and playing at a high level. While time is running out to do that, it seems that they will try to give it a shot.
Meanwhile, Kendrick Nunn is likely to sit out the rest of the season.
Frank Vogel says 2021-22 season with Lakers has been the most difficult campaign of his career
The Lakers were expected to compete for the title when they make blockbuster signings in the 2021 offseason. But L.A. never lived up to the expectations, putting the coaching staff, the front office, and the players under more and more scrutiny.
Head coach Frank Vogel admitted to the 2021-22 season being the most difficult one of his career.
“Yeah, I would say probably,” Vogel says. “Just because of the expectations that we’ve had. We’ve had too many really difficult nights and I think there’s an element of being a part of managing LeBron’s legacy for these final years of his career. I want to just give him the best opportunity to have team success throughout that.
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