One sports doctor believes that the Los Angeles Lakers’ latest update on star Anthony Davis is “good news overall.”
Davis has been diagnosed with a stress injury in his right foot and will be out indefinitely for the team.
However, it appears that the injury can be healed by reducing the load that Davis has at the moment, according to Dr. Rajpal Brar.
This is good news overall. It’s an overload injury. Hence you reduce that load, re-evaluate based after a set period of time and then go from there. Makes sense why nothing showed up on imaging.
— Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT (@3cbPerformance) December 23, 2022
Lakers fans have to be pleased with this update, especially since there had been reports that Davis could miss around two or three months with the injury.
For now, the Lakers plan to have Davis rest for another seven to 10 days before re-evaluating his status. Hopefully, Davis will be able to avoid any procedure on his foot.
ESPN Sources: The pain has subsided in past several days in Anthony Davis' foot and he's expected to rest it for another 7-to-10 days and have it re-evaluated and see if he can return to play. For now, there's hope that a procedure can be avoided. https://t.co/4B2RXiAZTV
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 23, 2022
An eight-time All-Star, Davis has been great for the Lakers this season. He is averaging 27.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 59.4 percent from the field.
Injuries have been a major issue for Davis during his time with the Lakers, starting in the 2020-21 season. He appeared in just 40 games last season and 36 during the 2020-21 campaign.
When Davis was healthy during the 2019-20 season, the Lakers went on to win the NBA Finals, with Davis coming up with clutch plays all throughout the team’s playoff run.
This season, the Lakers are off to a slow start, going 13-18 through their first 31 games. They hold the No. 13 spot in the Western Conference, which puts them outside of the playoff race.
With Davis sidelined for an unknown amount of time, Los Angeles is going to have a hard time competing for a playoff spot. However, if the four-time All-NBA selection is able to return quicker than expected based on this latest report, it could keep the Lakers in the hunt in the West.
The Lakers have been better this season since starting the year with a 2-10 record, but they have struggled without Davis in the lineup. In six games without their star forward, the Lakers are just 2-4.
For as long as Davis is out, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook will be tasked with carrying the Lakers’ offense.
James is certainly up to the task, but with a loaded Western Conference, the Lakers will need to play much better to keep themselves hovering around a playoff or play-in spot.
