Anthony Davis has missed nearly 20 games since injuring his foot in the last game before the All-Star break in another blow to the Los Angeles Lakers this season.
L.A. has chalked up just four wins in Davis’ absence, briefly falling out of Play-In qualifying spots in the Western Conference standings. Among the main factors behind the Lakers’ slump, their defense has ranked as the fourth-worst since the forward suffered the injury.
The 29-year-old seemingly saw how badly the Purple and Gold missed him. Head coach Frank Vogel said Davis has done his best to make a prompt return to the court.
“He’s been working extremely hard and he wants to get back as quickly as possible,” Vogel said. “That’s the energy that we’ve felt from Anthony in terms of getting cleared and passing certain hurdles and then obviously ramping up his work, letting the increased workload recover and see how it responds. He’s shown a great urgency to get back on the floor so hopefully, we get him back soon.”
However, Vogel pointed out Davis will need time to shrug off the rustiness that accumulated over his six-week break.
“I think whenever any player is out for this amount of time, it usually takes some time for them to catch a rhythm.
“Obviously we saw what Paul George did the other night and I think when something like that happens, it can be the exception and it also could be a first-game energy that you don’t necessarily have when you start dealing with game-to-game soreness. Anthony is gonna be facing all of those things and hopefully we can get as much out of him as we can.”
Davis & LeBron James target Friday’s game against Pelicans for return
The latest reports claim Davis and LeBron James could join their teammates on the court as early as on Friday when L.A. takes on the New Orleans Pelicans.
James missed two games after he sprained his ankle in last week’s game against the Pelicans.
Vogel commented on the possibility, although he said the decision is up to the Lakers’ medical team and not him.
“That’s up to the medical team, those are medical decisions,” Vogel said after Thursday night’s loss to the Utah Jazz. “If there’s any chance those guys can be out there, they will be. They want to get back as quickly as they can, but those are medical decisions.”
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