Despite having started each of his team's previous two contests, there appeared to be some doubt as to whether or not the Los Angeles Lakers would have star forward Anthony Davis at their disposal Thursday versus the Brooklyn Nets. Those fears have dissipated.
Head coach Frank Vogel confirmed before tip-off that Davis had been given the green light to take the floor after tweaking the injury to his gluteus maximus Wednesday night against the Knicks.
Anthony Davis will start tonight. Frank Vogel said AD tweaked the gluteus maximus area that kept him out recently last night vs. the Knicks, but he played through it and is good to play tonight as well.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) January 23, 2020
Davis missed five games earlier in the month following a scary fall that he sustained near the basket Jan. 7. He has been slowly eased back into the fold for Los Angeles, logging 23 minutes Monday, before totaling 30 on Wednesday.
After a relative scoring clunker against Boston earlier in the week, Davis responded with 28 points against the Knicks. His season averages of 26.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocks on a nightly basis still comfortably put him in the conversation for All-Star consideration, as he has seamlessly transitioned to playing alongside LeBron James.
Even without Davis available for much of the last two weeks, the Lakers have maintained a four-game lead atop the Western Conference standings. Their 19-4 record away from home is the best mark in the league, as they will once again put it to the test Thursday against a Nets squad that comes in reeling, having lost each of their last four outings.
Davis has rebounded exceptionally well against the Nets in his career, averaging 12.5 per contest, tied for his second-highest total against any team in the league.
He will look to keep that number trending upward Thursday, as all signs point to him having a workload mirroring his normal minutes' allotment.
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