After re-evaluating Anthony Davis’ calf strain/Achilles tendonosis last Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that the superstar big would be out another two weeks, at least.

“Anthony Davis was examined by team doctors this evening,” the team said in a statement. “He is progressing in his recovery and has been cleared to enter the next phase of his return to play process. He will be re-evaluated by team doctors in two weeks and an update will be given at that time.”

After L.A.'s win on Friday over the Indiana Pacers, Vogel was nonspecific when discussing Davis' status, though he projected optimism and patience regarding his recovery.

“We anticipated it’s going to be a little bit of a build-up once we got back (from the All-Star break),” Vogel said. “We’ll be patient, we’ll continue to compete and win games and we’ll all be very excited when we finally get him back.”

On Feb. 19, following an MRI a few days prior, Davis's return timetable was set at four weeks. That put him on track to return this week, possibly on March 18, when the Lakers face the Charlotte Hornets.

But, on Monday morning, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that “Davis could be sidelined for the next three weeks and possibly beyond.”

During his pre-game Zoom with reporters on Monday, head coach Frank Vogel indirectly refuted the report and insisted that no changes have been made to Davis's timetable. Vogel re-iterated his Friday comments that the All-Star has begun his “ramp-up” and will be re-evaluated two weeks from last Friday's announcement.

If that comes to fruition, Davis could return for a showdown with Cleveland Cavaliers on March 26. Or, more likely, for a matchup with the Orlando Magic at Staples Center on March 28.

Regardless of the exact date, it sounds like Davis will be out longer than four weeks — and possibly into April, depending on how long the “ramp-up” takes. This may be an unfortunate development for Davis fantasy owners, but not the Lakers.

First of all, as far as we can glean, the prolonged recovery timeline isn't due to a setback in rehab. Rather, Davis has seemingly progressed well, and “entering the next phase” is encouraging.

AD had yet to find his typical offensive groove before going down, though he remained one of the best two-way players in the league. In 23 games, Davis is averaging 22.5 points on 53.5 percent shooting while grabbing 8.4 rebounds and blocking nearly two shots per game.

However, his three-point shooting had been noticeably absent from his repertoire (29.3 percent on 2.5 attempts per game), and both he and the Lakers acknowledged that the short offseason and resulting bumps and bruises had hindered his play. Davis missed five games with various ailments prior to the calf re-aggravation.

Following Monday night's win over the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers moved to 9-7 on the season without Davis, and 5-6 since he last played. Appropriately, Vogel didn't seem too concerned about the team's record without their star big-man and most valuable defender.

“I’m looking at it like we’re starting the second half of our season,” Vogel said when asked whether he values the team's record sans Davis. “We’re 1-0 during that stretch.”

The Lakers have admitted to not caring about home-court advantage. No seeding position in this uniquely compact season is remotely as vital to their repeat aspirations as Davis' postseason availability and condition.

Accordingly — and finally — the Lakers are backing that up with their revised treatment of Davis' injury.

“The Lakers will be overly cautious in their approach to working Davis back even at the cost of slipping in the standings,” Haynes wrote.

Before he re-aggravated the calf on Valentine's Day, the Lakers were strangely cavalier with their star's foot early into a condensed season. Now, they seem to have learned their lesson. As great as James still is, the Lakers aren’t a championship contender without Davis in peak form.

The Lakers may sacrifice games in the meantime. Even with AD, they are thin in the frontcourt, especially as Marc Gasol remains out (health and safety protocols) for at least two more games.

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On the other hand, besides a few matchups with contenders (Philadelphia 76ers on March 25, Milwaukee Bucks on March 31, the Los Angeles Clippers on Easter), the Lakers will face mostly lottery teams or low-level playoff teams. They are good enough to beat those teams without Davis, especially when Montrezl Harrell produces as he did against a hapless Warriors defense (11-14 FG, 27 points).

According to Kyle Kuzma, the time off has been beneficial for Davis, too. In his second season in L.A. Davis has been more engaged then ever on the sidelines, and is clearly using his time on the sidelines to put on his coach’s hat.

“I think this time out has been great for AD,” Kuzma said after Monday's win. “In the year and a half I’ve been playing with him, this is the most vocal, from a leadership standpoint, as he’s been. … He’s got his iPad, looking over plays, talking to us.”

“We respect him, he’s Anthony Davis,” Kuzma continued. “Anytime he says something, we listen to it. We need more of it.”

For now, Lakers fans should take a deep breath and get used to seeing a lot of Damian Jones and Harrell, who can work to build Vogel's trust on defense ahead of the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Rob Pelinka will monitor the buyout market.

In the case of Davis' health, no approach is too cautious. After all, good things come to those who wait.