Anthony Davis is officially playing for the Los Angeles Lakers against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night, and according to head coach Frank Vogel, there won't be any minute restrictions for him.

Davis has been sidelined for more than a month after suffering a foot injury in mid-February. With that said, there were expectations Vogel and co. would put a minute cap on him to ease him back to game action. Instead, however, Vogel noted that they will just “be responsible” in managing his minutes but there won't be any kind of limit in his playing time (per Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet).

Frank Vogel and the Lakers' decision not to put Anthony Davis in any form of restriction is understandable. Of course they need him to be on the floor as much as possible since they must win against the Pelicans to keep their playoff hopes alive, but more than that, it's the fact that AD has worked really hard to get to his current playing condition.

The Lakers head coach spoke as much about that prior to Friday's game, highlighting the urgency Davis has shown in getting back to the floor.

“He’s been working extremely hard and he wants to get back as quickly as possible,” Vogel said of Davis. “That’s the energy that we’ve felt from Anthony in terms of once getting cleared and passing certain hurdles. And then, obviously, ramping up his work, letting the increased workload recover and see how it responds. And he’s shown a great urgency to try to get back on the floor.”

For what it's worth, though, Lakers fans shouldn't expect too much in Davis' first game back. While he is indeed physically ready, it is worth noting that he missed 18 straight games due to his foot issue. Vogel himself warned that it might take some time before Davis finds his rhythm.

“I think when any player is out for this amount of time, it usually takes some time for them to catch a rhythm,” Vogel added. “Obviously, we saw what Paul George did the other night. I think when something like that happens, it can be the exception. It also can be a first-game energy that you don’t necessarily have when you start dealing with game-to-game soreness… So Anthony’s going to be facing all of these things, and hopefully we can get as much out of him as we can.”

Davis is a major cog for the Lakers, which is why it's not surprising the team just won four times in that span he was absent. He is an imposing presence in the paint, and he anchors the team's defense. Without him, the Purple and Gold struggled stopping teams from exploiting the painted area.

AD was averaging 23.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.3 blocks per outing before his lengthy absence from injury.

While it's unlikely for Davis to reach the same numbers immediately, hopes are high that he could make an immediate impact on the defensive end for the Lakers.

As for LeBron James, Vogel noted that he remains a “true game-time decision.” He is still recovering from an ankle injury, and the Lakers are checking up until the last minute if James can play against the Pelicans without any risk of reinjuring the issue that has already sidelined him the past two contests.