This has been the season from hell for the Los Angeles Lakers as nothing has gone right for the team this year. Coming out of their latest disappointing loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, much of the news has focused on LeBron James’ ankle injury that he suffered in the second quarter.
But coming out of practice on Monday, there is some positive news about Anthony Davis.
The Lakers’ star big man has been out since the middle of February after a gruesome foot injury but has slowly been working his way back on the court. Now Davis has taken the next step as head coach Frank Vogel revealed that he fully participated in the Lakers practice.
“Positive sign. He went through full practice,” Vogel said after the session. “He did all of our drill work and did some live scrimmaging, so we’re at a point now where it’s really about how he responds to that and the level of soreness he has coming out of this first live work. He’ll also be listed as doubtful for tomorrow.”
This is a major development and seems to indicate that Davis is close to suiting back up for a Lakers team that sorely needs any type of positive news. That being said Davis, like James, is being listed as doubtful and Vogel outlined what needs to happen for the big man to be back on the court.
“He’s got to get his legs under him. That’s the biggest thing,” Vogel said. “When you have a foot injury like this, it’s not as easy to do all your running and stay in shape as if you had a wrist injury or something like that so that’s definitely going to take time. And because of that, you have to be more cautious with the return to play.
“If you throw him out there and he doesn’t have his wind, then the injury becomes compromised or you overcompensate in certain ways and you don’t want that. It’s definitely going to be a stretch here when we get him back where he’s still getting his legs under him.”
The Lakers definitely intend to be cautious with Davis’ return even as their season is on the brink of complete disaster. As Vogel noted, it’s tough to stay in shape and get in the proper cardio with an ankle injury like Davis suffered and rushing back can make it even worse.
Davis is absolutely crucial to any chance of success for the Lakers and how he responds to this practice could allow him to get back on the court for his team. But even with things crumbling, Vogel and the Lakers will continue to take all precautions and make sure Davis is truly ok before returning.
Davis believes injuries would have been worse if not for offseason training
The injuries Davis suffered this season were truly an unfortunate occurrence as both came from freak accidents on the court. Some have questioned the Lakers’ star’s offseason training as reasons for his injury issues, but Davis believes his training regimen prevented things from being worse.
Davis made it clear that because he was able to build up the strength in those areas, it turned what could have been breaks or tears into sprains. Regardless, the Lakers’ star continues to do everything possible to get back on the court for his team.
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