The Los Angeles Lakers were dominated in every facet of the game in their Game 5 loss to the Phoenix Suns, and one of the reasons for that was the absence of Anthony Davis.
Davis put up back-to-back 34-point performances Games 2 and 3 to lead the Lakers to wins but then went down with a groin injury in Game 4. The result has been two straight losses to allow Phoenix to take a 3-2 series lead.
While Davis wanted to play in Game 5, the Lakers’ medical team deemed he was not healthy enough after shooting around pregame and he was forced to sit out.
It appears the groin is getting better though and Frank Vogel is hopeful that he’ll be able to play in a must-win Game 6, although that will again be a medical decision.
“We’ll see. We’re hopeful that he’s able to get back out there but he’s still dealing with the injury,” Vogel saif after Wednesday’s practice. “Making progress but we still don’t know. He’s gonna continue to get around-the-clock treatment and hopefully give himself a chance to play. But he’s got to be cleared and obviously that’s not gonna happen until game time, the final decision.”
Vogel went on to elaborate on what Davis was able to do on the court during the practice.
“Anthony did move around some on the court today to try to loosen it up and see where he was at. I’m not gonna get into any of the real details of that but he’s doing everything he can to try to get back out there and the medical team is keeping a very close eye on whether they’re gonna clear him or not and will make an intelligent decision obviously with a lot at stake.”
Davis is dealing with a Grade 1 groin straight, which usually takes a couple of weeks to recover from. He echoed that he is getting better though due to the round-the-clock treatment he has been receiving.
“It gets better every day,” Davis said. “Like I said, any movement that I do starts from the groin area so walking, whatever it is, it’s always aggravating that area. Like I said, it’s getting better every day and the treatment helps, the exercises help so each day I’m getting better and hopefully tomorrow I’ll be cleared.”
Davis is a competitor so there is no doubt that he wants to be out on the floor at Staples Center for Game 6. “I don’t know, I mean hopefully the rehab and treatment that I’m doing pays off and the doctors clear me to go tomorrow.
“That’s what we want so like I said, get more treatment tonight, tomorrow and kind of talks to the doctors before and after our shootaround and hopefully everything comes back good where they clear me. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
The Lakers lost Game 5 by 30 points without Davis, struggling to contain the Suns offensively while also missing a ton of open shots. Davis’ impact is obviously felt on both sides of the floor and he spoke on how difficult it was to watch that performance from the sidelines.
“It’s tough,” Davis admitted. “Especially last night watching the game and not being able to help the team on the floor. That’s the toughest part knowing that I can’t contribute, my body just wouldn’t allow me to.”
Davis reveals knee issue led to groin injury
Before Davis hurt his groin, he actually went into Game 4 with a knee injury that he suffered after hyperextending it in Game 3.
Davis made it clear before Game 4 that he was playing through the knee issue, although that may not have been the best idea as he believes that led to the groin injury.
“Yeah, they told me everything is connected and that’s what happened. The groin happens because of the tightness in the knee from the hyperextension. So that’s kind of what it was, I was feeling the knee kind of the whole game, even the first couple plays. Then just went up to try to lay the ball up and as soon as I like went up I just felt it from my knee just shoot up into my groin. That was kind of the end of it, but yeah, they told me it was from the knee that caused the groin injury.”
Even though the Lakers are facing elimination, there is no doubt that the organization will be cautious with their star to avoid history repeating itself and a more significant injury that could cost him time long-term.
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