Will the Lakers’ Anthony Davis return against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night?
If you’re a Lakers fan, you probably haven’t had any reason to be excited about the team this season. Yet, while the big man’s return won’t necessarily save the day for LA, it’s certainly good news for a team that has been struggling.
After a lengthy layoff, one of the Lakers’ stars is now set to return to the court. Will this save the Lakers season? Probably not, but it will go a long way toward giving LeBron James and his under-fire teammates a boost in confidence.
Anthony Davis set to return against San Antonio Spurs
At long last, Los Angeles Lakers star, Anthony Davis is set to make a return to his team. According to reports, Davis will actually feature in Wednesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. That’s to say, that assuming he comes through the warmup unscathed, the former NBA Champion will play his first game after missing 20 due to a foot injury. Understandably, Davis will be limited in his minutes and as such, won’t play more than 24 minutes in the game. There has been no official word on how long the team will continue the restriction.
The injury and its effect on the Lakers
It was during a December 16th game against the Denver Nuggets, when Davis suffered a bone spur fracture and a resulting stress reaction in his right foot. During a moment when he went up against reigning league MVP, Nikola Jokic, the center landed and immediately began to hop in visible pain. The resulting news from the team, was that Davis would be out indefinitely. Needless to say, it was a major blow to a team that was already experiencing major issues from Russell Westbrook’s integration or lack thereof, to less than ideal Draft capital negotiation.
To be frank, Davis was in sensational form prior to his injury. With an average of 27.4 points, a career-high 12.1 rebounds and shot a career-best 59.4% from the field, one might even say it was the best basketball he’s played in the league so far, which is saying a lot for a player who is an 8-time NBA All-Star. To punctuate the point, the Lakers proceed to post a 10-10 record once Davis was sidelined. Incidentally, the team actually acquired Rui Hachimura from the Washington Wizards on Monday, which in theory means he could make his debut on Wednesday. How will that affect Davis’ reintroduction into the lineup, is something that remains to be seen going forward. As things stand, the Lakers have won three of their last five games, with their last game being a 133-115 loss on Tuesday. Despite a 46-point effort from LeBron James, the team still fell. Evidently, Davis is returning to a team that isn’t doing well, but one has to believe that with his contribution, they can do better.