Although the Los Angeles Lakers were blown out by the Denver Nuggets, the biggest story of the night was Anthony Davis aggravating his right Achilles injury.
Davis came up lame on his drive to the rim in the second quarter and was removed for the night after making both free throws. Although it was with a considerable limp, one encouraging sign was Davis walked to the locker room under his own power.
The Lakers have diagnosed Davis with a right Achilles strain, and he is scheduled to undergo an MRI. “Today was the first day I felt completely fine. I didn’t feel it at all this morning, afternoon, pregame, anything,” he said after the loss.
“I just felt like we were heading in the right direction on the treatment side and rehab side. Just another setback, but it’s a part of the game. It’s more so frustrating that I’m not able to go out there and play.
“Like I said before, you don’t want to mess around with this type of injury. Just try to figure out the best steps after receiving the MRI.”
Davis’ frustration is understandable as it appeared as though he was finally starting to put the issue behind him. Now, however, it is likely the star big man misses multiple weeks in order to get back to 100% health.
An Achilles injury is a scary one to deal with as it could significantly alter a player’s career, and for someone like Davis who has a history of nagging injuries, he is fortunate to have escaped with just a re-aggravation. Still, now head coach Frank Vogel and the team will need to regroup and find ways to make up for Davis’ absence.
LeBron James has been playing at an MVP-caliber level throughout the 2020-21 season, and the burden falls on him even more to make sure the Lakers stay afloat while Davis is out.
LeBron could cement MVP case with Davis out
James is considered to be one of the frontrunner’s for this season’s MVP honors, and with Davis out he will have to shoulder more of the load.
While it is far from optimal to lean so heavily on James, the forward could use it as an opportunity to further his argument to come away with his fifth MVP Award.
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