Los Angeles Lakers announced that star big man Anthony Davis has been upgraded to probable for Tuesday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.
The change in status signals good news for Davis, who has been out for the last five weeks due to a sprained MCL in his left knee.
The Lakers originally upgraded Davis’ status to questionable before Sunday’s game against the Miami Heat, although he ultimately was not ready to play.
Frank Vogel said after the game that his status for Tuesday’s game against the Nets would be determined after he works out on Monday, so it appears everything went according to plan in that workout and the expectation is that he will now return in Brooklyn.
Davis getting back into action is certainly great news for the Lakers, who have struggled to maintain a .500 record in his absence. The Lakers’ defense, in particular, has been poor since Davis went out, an area he will certainly help address.
James exited for Davis to return
One person who is undoubtedly excited for Davis to return is LeBron James, who expressed as much after the loss to the Heat.
“Well anytime you get a talent like that come back to the lineup it boosts our team,” James said. “Not only physically, mentally, spiritually, everything when you get a big-time player like that on both sides of the floor. So like I said, it’s no pressure on when he decides he’s ready or when the doctors and staff tell him he’s ready, but we look forward to when he’s in a uniform again with us.”
James, who has scored 25 or more points in every game since Davis went down, added that he doesn’t expect that to change once he returns.
“That’s just how the games have been going,” LeBron added. “I don’t need to score 30 a night, but I’m in one of the best zones offensively I’ve been in in my career and I don’t plan on stopping it. That’s just how I feel, I feel fantastic, shooting the ball extremely well from the field. I didn’t shoot the 3-ball well tonight but all eight of them felt great. Shooting efficient from the free-throw line, shooting efficient from the field, very efficient at the rim.
“So I don’t go into the games saying ‘oh, you got to score 30 or you guys don’t have a chance.’ I just play the game, the scoring has just been happening organically. So workload, I don’t even know. I was 18 years old saving a franchise so I don’t understand [the issue].”
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