Another slow start for the Los Angeles Lakers made it seem as though they would lose, but once again they turned it up in the second half and won against the Memphis Grizzlies.
After missing the past two games, Anthony Davis returned to the lineup and although he struggled to get going in the first quarter, he immediately picked it up afterward. Davis finished with a game-high 35 points on 16-of-27 shooting to go along with nine rebounds in 35 minutes.
He had been held out due to what the team diagnosed as right Achilles tendonosis. Davis appeared to be moving relatively well throughout the night and offered clarification on his injury after the win.
“It’s not the actual Achilles tendon, where it can be scary. It’s — I forgot what the name of it is — it’s something that’s over it that’s pretty sore,” Davis explained. “It’s not the actual tendon, which is why it’s comfortable for me to play and get it loose. The doctors and training staff feel comfortable enough for me to go out there as well. It’s just something that’s going to continue to get better.
“Constantly doing treatment on it throughout the day and night, and wearing stuff for my shoes to help the pain, wearing tape and all these things to make it feel better. Eventually it will get to where I’m able to just go out there and play and not worry about it.”
Soreness is expected given the nature of the injury and how many minutes Davis played, but it sounds as though it is nothing of too much concern. Head coach Frank Vogel previously expressed that he and the coaching staff were not worried about it and had been holding Davis out for precautionary reasons.
Of course, staying healthy in a season especially when coronavirus (COVID-19) still exists is of the utmost importance, so if at any point Davis’ Achilles area flares up it will be wise to hold him out again.
Davis describes difficulties with injury
Prior to shedding insight on the tendon not being an issue, Davis explained the discomfort he was feeling following Thursday’s practice. “Not really tightness, more so soreness,” he said.
“The tendon is just really sore. So pushing off, even walking, obviously running and jumping and things like that, I will feel it. So it’s more so just soreness and letting it calm down.”
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