Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis offered a positive update on his back injury that limited him during the preseason.
Davis said that he feels “great” ahead of the Lakers matchup with the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
Anthony Davis on his back (that had him sit a couple of preseason games as a precaution): “I feel great going into tomorrow. No restrictions. Playing basketball.”
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 17, 2022
The Lakers are hoping that Davis can stay healthy in the 2022-23 season after he missed 42 games last season.
Various injuries limited Davis to just 40 games in the 2021-22 campaign, but he played well when he was on the floor, averaging 23.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 53.2 percent from the field and 18.6 percent from beyond the arc.
The University of Kentucky product is one of the best big men in the NBA when healthy, and he showed that in the 2019-20 season when the Lakers won the NBA Finals.
If there’s an area where Davis needs to improve this season it’s in the shooting department, specifically from 3-point range.
One of the keys when the Lakers won the NBA title in the 2019-20 season was that Davis shot 33.0 percent from 3-point range. He’s progressively gotten worse in that aspect of his game over the past two seasons.
In the 2020-21 campaign, Davis shot just 26.0 percent from beyond the arc on 2.8 attempts per game. His percentage dropped against last season, and it’s a concern if the Lakers forward is going to continue to shoot from the outside.
With the Lakers improving their guard depth this offseason, it should allow Davis to play closer to the basket at times in the 2022-23 season.
The Warriors are a tough opponent for Los Angeles on Tuesday. However, with Davis in the lineup and feeling good, the Lakers should be able to counteract some of the Warriors’ smaller lineups.
Davis has a size advantage on both Draymond Green and Kevon Looney in the frontcourt, so it will be interesting to see how the Warriors match up with him in Tuesday’s contest.
Golden State won the NBA title last season behind a terrific NBA Finals performance from guard Stephen Curry. The Lakers, who missed the playoffs last season, are hoping a healthy Davis and LeBron James will help them get back in the conversation as contenders in the Western Conference this season.
