The Los Angeles Lakers have gotten off to a poor start to the 2022-23 NBA season, and to make matters worse, Anthony Davis is already dealing with injury issues.
Davis dealt with back soreness in the preseason that he aggravated in home opener against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Despite missing Friday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Davis will be back in action on Sunday night when the Lakers host Nikola Jokic and the visiting Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena.
#Lakers say Anthony Davis will play tonight.
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) October 31, 2022
Before the regular season got underway earlier this month, Davis said he wanted to play in all 82 games. Five games in, that goal has already become a distant memory, with Davis’ back becoming an issue that might not be going away anytime soon.
Not once in his entire NBA career has Davis played all 82 regular-season games. The closest he’s come was during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns with the New Orleans Pelicans when he played in 75 games both seasons.
These days Davis is lucky to get close to 60 games played in a season. During his time in Los Angeles, the most games he played in Purple and Gold was in his first year with the team in 2019-20, when he suited up for 62 games.
Since that year, Davis has struggled to stay healthy and on the floor on a consistent basis. He’s played a combined 76 games over the past two years, and there’s no telling how his body will hold up for the rest of this season, considering he’s already dealing with a lingering back injury.
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