Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis has been on a tear as of late, stepping up in the absence of LeBron James who missed time with an adductor strain.
Davis led the Lakers to four wins in five games, averaging 33.4 points, 17.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.6 blocks while shooting 64.4% from the field and 89.5% from the free throw line in that span.
He had another dominant performance on Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs in LeBron James’ return with 25 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three blocks to help L.A. pick up another win.
Unfortunately though, he did not come out of that game clean as the Lakers announced he suffered a left calf contusion after being kicked. That forced Davis to miss Saturday night’s game against the Spurs in the second of the back-to-back.
Before the game, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham explained why Davis was forced to sit out, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“He was kicked at some point in the second half last night so it’s just a little irritated, a little bruising. So just trying to stay ahead of it and be a little cautious and take our time with it.”
The good news is that the injury is not serious and Ham said they were just taking extra precautions by sitting him out in the second of the back-to-back:
“Just it being a back-to-back, the load he’s been carrying, specifically with LeBron out. It’s just the smart and right thing to do. We don’t want to push him this early in the season and again, when you’re talking about different muscles and ligaments, it’s something that can easily turn into a year-long issue. So we just want to avoid that. We don’t want to put any additional strain on the area. The medical people decided it was the right thing to do and I totally agree.”
The Lakers were able to take care of business in Davis’ absence, beating the Spurs to end their road trip on a high note with back-to-back wins over the Spurs.
L.A. will now return home and next take the court on Monday night against the Indiana Pacers and Davis is expected to return to action, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
Anthony Davis (left calf contusion) is expected to return to the lineup Monday vs. the Pacers, sources told ESPN.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 27, 2022
The matchup with the Pacers will be a tough one with how well Myles Turner is playing, so it’s good to see that Davis will be back to control the paint for the Lakers after getting a couple days of rest.
LeBron James says Anthony Davis has been playing like best player in NBA
The calf contusion came at an inopportune time for Davis considering how well he has been playing as of late. His play recently drew praise from his co-star in James, who believes Davis has been playing like the best player in the league as of late.
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