NBA PLAYOFFS
What do we know about Anthony Davis’ hip injury? Will he play in game 6 against the Grizzlies?
The Lakers forward missed the last minutes of Game 5 due to a hip injury and the Grizzlies took advantage of it to seal the win at FedEx Forum.
Only two of the eight first-round playoff series are still being played and with everything to be decided, the ones involving the Golden State Warriors vs. the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers against the Memphis Grizzlies.
However, the latter one has been especially dramatic so far, with Tayor Jenkins’ team having to deal with Ja Morant’s injury and the 17-time NBA Champions seeing how their two main stars, Lebron James and Anthony Davis, have also suffered injuries during the series.
However, with Morant and James seemingly recovered and ready to play the next game, all the attention is now focused on Davis, as he had to leave the court in the last minutes of Game 5 with a right hip injury that also affected him the game before.
Actually, Davis did a remarkable job while he was on the court, recording 31 points, 14-of-23 shooting, a playoff career-high 19 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 35 minutes. And probably that was the reason why Memphis took over once he was forced to stop playing.
Will Anthony Davis play in Game 6?
The Lakers are a much weaker team without AD. In the 190 minutes he’s played so far in the series, the Lakers are +38, while in the 55 minutes he’s sat, the team is -33. In Game 5, on the 12:50 he did not play, LA was outscored by 23 points.
However, the Lakers fans can take a deep breather now, as the last reports point out that the 6ft 11′ former Pelicans forward is probable for Game 6.
The player’s will to play is expected to play a major part here, as he admitted he would be ready to play as much as required by coach Darvin Ham.
“I’ll play 48. This is what you prepare the entire season for. Starting off low minutes and kind of working your way up through the course of the season to be able to play extended minutes in the playoffs to get victories. So if the coach needs me to play 42, 45, 48 minutes, or whatever to get the job done, I’ll be ready to do so”, Davis said after their 99-116 loss to Memphis.
In the last 5 games, Davis, who won the Championship with the Lakers in 2020, has had 22, 13, 31, 12, and 31 points.