Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis was playing at an MVP level before he went down with a stress reaction in his foot in December.
The injury came at an unfortunate time considering the Lakers were trying to dig themselves out of an early-season hole to get back in postseason contention.
Luckily though, the Lakers have begun to find their way in Davis’ absence and now find themselves in the thick of the playoff race in a crowded Western Conference. Despite being 22-26, the Lakers are just three games out of the fifth seed in the West.
Davis has been progressing steadily in his rehab for the foot injury and it now appears he is on the verge of returning. According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Davis will play on Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs albeit on a minutes restriction:
Davis will be on a 20-24 minute restriction, easing back from an injury that had some medical personnel projecting an 8-10 week recovery timeframe. https://t.co/eH0aKTCrkH
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 25, 2023
This is obviously great news for the Lakers as getting Davis back will go a long way in improving the team’s play. In 25 games this season, Davis has averaged 27.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.1 blocks while shooting 59.4% from the field.
The Lakers have stressed that they are not going to rush Davis back to make sure he is 100% healthy and not in danger of reinjuring the foot. Even though he will be on a minutes restriction, him potentially being able to play is a good sign that he is feeling good.
Hachimura will make Lakers debut against Spurs
Davis isn’t the only Lakers player that will be in the lineup on Wednesday that wasn’t on Tuesday night against the L.A. Clippers as the newly acquired Rui Hachimura will make his team debut, Darvin Ham confirmed.
With the return of Davis, acquisition of Hachimura and Austin Reaves and Lonnie Walker IV also close to being back, the Lakers seem primed to go on a run in the second half of the season. The Feb. 9 trade deadline is also just around the corner, so the front office will have some time to evaluate what they have with Davis in the lineup before making any potential moves.
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