The Los Angeles Lakers will be without star Anthony Davis for an indefinite period of time after he was diagnosed with a stress injury in his right foot.
Update on Anthony Davis:
“After extensive consultation with Lakers team physicians and outside specialists, it has been determined that Anthony Davis has a stress injury in his right foot. Davis will be out indefinitely. Further updates will be provided when appropriate.”
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) December 23, 2022
This is a major blow to the Lakers, and it has been feared by people within the organization that Davis could miss around two or even three months with the injury.
The pain in Davis’ foot reportedly has subsided, which is a good sign for now. The Lakers plan to have him re-evaluated after he rests for another seven to 10 days. From there, the team will determine if he will be able to return to action.
For now, there appears to be hope that Davis will be able to return without needing a 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
The Lakers are currently sitting outside the playoff picture in the Western Conference. They are the No. 13 seed with a 13-18 record. When Davis is out of the lineup this season, the Lakers are just 2-4.
This season, Davis 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. He’s been one of the best players in the league when healthy, so Los Angeles will need several players to step up to replace him.
Thomas Bryant will likely replace a lot of Davis’ minutes at the center position, but Los Angeles will need LeBron James and Russell Westbrook to step up to provide a bigger scoring punch for the team.
The Lakers have been in this position before, and with no exact timeline for Davis, the team has to proceed without expecting him back any time soon.
Injuries have been a major problem for Davis since coming to the Lakers. The eight-time All-Star appeared in just 40 games last season and 36 during the 2020-21 campaign.
He and James have both been banged up over the last two seasons, and it’s led to the team failing to win a playoff series since they won the 2020 NBA Finals. When healthy, Davis showed that he can be a driving force for the Lakers in a title run.
It’s possible the Lakers will look to make an upgrade to their roster with Davis out, but they are unlikely to trade Westbrook given the current market.
Los Angeles has two first-round picks that it could move, but it doesn’t make sense to if the team isn’t contending for a playoff spot or a title.
