For the second consecutive season, the Los Angeles Lakers have been ravaged by injuries but their latest hit is the worst one as Anthony Davis was ruled out for at least the next month with an MCL sprain.
Davis said he is in good spirits after the injury, but his loss can not be understated given how much he means to the Lakers on both ends of the floor. Without Davis, Los Angeles will need to try and stay afloat in the standings though that is easier said than done given their upcoming stretch of games.
Russell Westbrook is no stranger to injuries and has been focused on trying to keep Davis upbeat.
“It’s tough,” Westbrook said. “Anytime you see somebody go down and they got to miss some time, especially from a game that they love to play, it’s tough. I’ve been there and I understand just from an emotional standpoint. Just trying to keep uplifting him, staying positive and talking to him just making sure that he tries to win each day so he can get back healthy.”
Without Davis, Westbrook knows he and LeBron James will need to do more to win games but said the team will need to figure things out together. “Instinctively, that’s what you tell yourself. But also, you got to read the game because the game will tell you always what to do whether that’s scoring more or passing, rebounding more, whatever that may be.
“AD obviously is a huge part of our team and we got to figure out how to play without him for some time so it’s something that we got to adjust to and something we can figure out.”
While Westbrook and James will do their best to shoulder the load, there is no replacing Davis so the only thing the Lakers can hope for is their star big man attacks rehab and comes back healthy as soon as possible.
Russell Westbrook says Lakers must adapt without Anthony Davis
L.A. built its team around its stars and one of the primary advantages of doing that is to protect against any injuries or absences should one of them miss. While Westbrook is unsure if that is actually the case, he and the Lakers will need to figure things out on the fly.
“I’m not sure. I’m pretty sure GMs have those conversations and that’s something they think about, but me personally, I just come to work and do my job and you’ve got to play the cards you’re dealt regardless of if people are in or out. Injured or not, we got to be able to figure out a way to be able to do it. AD will be back and we want him to get back healthy so we can have our full team, but until then we got to adapt.”
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