Report: Lakers hopeful Anthony Davis will play vs. Suns on Friday

The Los Angeles Lakers endured perhaps their most embarrassing loss of the 2023-24 regular season so far against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

They lost by a final score of 128-94, and Rockets guard Jalen Green scored a game-high 28 points for Houston.

Perhaps a big reason why the Lakers lost to the Rockets in embarrassing fashion was the absence of star big man Anthony Davis, who sat out the game with a hip injury.

But a recent report suggests that the Lakers are hopeful that Davis will play in the team’s next game — which is also an In-Season Tournament game — against the Phoenix Suns on Friday.

“The Lakers are hopeful that Davis will play in the road trip finale Friday in Phoenix, sources said, which doubles as L.A.’s first group-play game of the in-season tournament,” Dave McMenamin wrote.

Forward Rui Hachimura arguably played the best out of any Lakers player on Wednesday. In 26 minutes of playing time off the bench, he recorded 24 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Plus, he went 10-of-14 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from behind the 3-point line.

The Lakers have now lost their last three games and own a subpar 3-5 record on the season after losing to Houston.

In seven appearances with the storied Lakers franchise so far this season, Davis is averaging 23.9 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.3 blocks per game while converting 55.3 percent of his shots from the field and 42.9 percent of his shots from outside the 3-point arc.

Davis is in his fifth season with the Lakers since the team traded for him ahead of the 2019-20 season. Before he was dealt to Los Angeles, Davis spent the first seven seasons of his NBA career with the New Orleans Pelicans, who drafted him with the top pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

The Lakers need a win to help stem the tide, so hopefully Davis will take part in the team’s In-Season Tournament matchup against the Suns. If Davis winds up not playing on Friday, Los Angeles could be in great jeopardy of losing its fourth game in a row.

After taking on the Suns, the Lakers will then play the Portland Trail Blazers at home on Nov. 12.