Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers can't catch a break.
The latest setback for the defending champions came late in the first quarter of their 118-94 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, when Davis took a worrying tumble against a sideline scorer's table.
Here is where Anthony Davis tweaked his ankle, for those who didn't see. He's currently in the locker room. No word from the Lakers on his status. He stayed in the game after this, but hasn't been seen since his shift ended. pic.twitter.com/x6RL1A0Uu7
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) May 7, 2021
In fact, Anthony Davis had his eye on the table's positioning before the game.
“I said it before the game. I said that the scorer's table looked like it was really close to the court. And then I ended up stepping on the scorer's table.”
At first, Davis appeared to have twisted his right ankle. He grabbed at his foot, then re-laced his sneakers. Following a multi-month absence with calf and Achilles issues, any foot-grabbing from the six-time All-Star is worrisome.
Fortunately, “the ankle is fine,” the Lakers big man said postgame. “I have no problem with the ankle. I kind of caught it before it turned all the way. I know it kind of looked bad, but it's fine.”
Davis toughed out a few more minutes, then went to the locker room in the second quarter. Shortly after halftime, the Lakers ruled Davis out for the rest of the evening. That was not a surprise, considering the blowout nature of the game and the Lakers' cautious handling of their star. However, in a minor plot twist, the team cited “back spasms” as the ailment.
After the game, Davis shed some light on the latest issue, which he said did not result from any “certain play.”
“During the timeouts — the first timeout, the second timeout — I kind of just felt it locking up more and more and more,” he recounted. “Then eventually, when I came out, I think around the 3-minute mark of the first quarter, it was pretty tough. It feels better now that I got some work done.”
Anthony Davis said he intends to play the second leg of the back-t0-back vs. the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday — which he described as “the biggest game” of the season. He acknowledged that the high-profile matchup “adds a little juice” into his attempt to play.
“I should be good to go tomorrow,” he said. “I'm still gonna wake it up and test it out. But my plan is to go tomorrow.”
Thursday was Davis' eighth game back after missing 30 straight contests with a calf strain. LeBron James remains out until at least next week after re-aggravating his ankle injury. Dennis Schröder will miss another handful of games in health and safety protocols. L.A. is also without Talen Horton-Tucker (calf strain) for the critical back-to-back against the Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers.
Vogel said the Lakers will “follow the lead of the medical team,” when it comes to Davis' availability vs. the Blazers. The Lakers will enjoy a welcome day of rest on Saturday.
The matchup Portland could play a key role in painting the Western Conference playoff picture. Both L.A. and Portland are 37-29 and tied for the no. 7 seed and play-in tournament. Friday's face-off will determine the season series and which squad owns the potentially pivotal tiebreaker.
The depleted Lakers will limp into the Moda Center as losers of seven of their past nine games, while the streaking Blazers have won five of their past six.
“I don't know if we have bad juju issues or what, but definitely every game, it's something,” Kyle Kuzma lamented. “That's just the cards we've been dealt.”
Follow Us
Subscribe