The Los Angeles Lakers have yet to be at full strength this entire season and their biggest loss due to injury this year is undoubtedly the sprained MCL that has sidelined big man Anthony Davis since Dec. 17.
Davis’ ability to stay healthy has been called into question for much of his career and this latest setback was another piece of evidence towards those concerns.
Davis remains a big piece of the puzzle for the Lakers as he gives them their best post presence offensively in addition to being one of the best defenders in the NBA. When Davis is at his best there are few players in the league who can match what he brings and it looks as if he will soon be returning to the court.
When Davis originally injured his knee in the middle of December, the Lakers said he would be re-evaluated in four weeks.
Well that four weeks is up and while the team has still yet to give an update, Dave McMenamin of ESPN is reporting that Davis could return to action during the upcoming road trip:
Anthony Davis participated in an individual on-court workout on Friday, four weeks to the day since spraining the MCL in his left knee. There is optimism within the Los Angeles Lakers organization that the star big man could return to game action sometime during L.A.’s long road trip at the end of the month, sources told ESPN.
Davis will be officially reevaluated by team doctors early next week, Lakers coach Frank Vogel said.
McMenamin then went on to give more of an update on Davis’ workouts:
Davis has been practicing with a bulky brace on his left knee but has been “moving well” during his workouts, sources told ESPN.
This is positive news for the Lakers as Davis undoubtedly raises the ceiling of the team in a big way. The Lakers have struggled mightily on defense and while Davis alone can’t solve that, he definitely improves it significantly. Not to mention he was averaging 23.3 points and 9.9 rebounds before going down and is another person capable of creating for both himself and others.
The Lakers have been disappointing, to say the least, this season and have always maintained that the team can’t truly be judged until they are completely healthy. With both Davis and Kendrick Nunn getting closer to returning, the team has a chance to truly see what they can be on the court.
If Davis is able to get back to the level he has shown in the past, the Lakers may finally begin to realize the potential that they and many others saw in themselves ahead of the season.
Nunn expected back before end of January
As far as Nunn, the Lakers have not given an exact timetable of when he will be able to return from a bone bruise in his knee that has kept him out the whole season, although recent reports indicated he will be back before the end of January.
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