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Anthony Davis mysteriously re-entered Sunday night's loss against the Denver Nuggets, almost inexplicably after turning his ankle in the third quarter. The Los Angeles Lakers were down nine points when Davis left with 3:13 left in the third quarter and down 13 once head coach Frank Vogel chose to plug him back in at the start of the fourth quarter, something he explained after a 128-104 blowout loss:
“He tweaked it and felt good enough to go back into the game so we just rolled with it. I didn’t feel like he looked limited,” said Vogel in respect to his decision to plug Davis back into the game, according to Matt Peralta of Lakers Nation.
Davis' re-entry into the game didn't have much impact, as the Nuggets' lead was extended to 20 points before he finally departed with 4:31 left in regulation.
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The Brow has had a habit of re-entering games after injuries, and while it is commendable, the Lakers have tried to fight him on it before, but to little avail. Recently, he was optimistic about playing in what would be a loss to the Indiana Pacers, but didn't — later rejoining the team for a blockbuster matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
Davis has logged heavy minutes in December and attempted 20 or more field goals in each of his last seven games as part of LeBron James' edict to make him the focal point of the offense. The struggle of racking up the wins and keeping this team healthy is a real one, with coach, player, and team at times contradicting each other through several games this season.
The Lakers have now lost not only two in a row but three straight after Sunday's defeat at the hands of the Nuggets. Things don't get much easier for Davis and company with a Christmas matchup against the noisy neighbor Los Angeles Clippers and a back-to-back against the Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks to close out the calendar year.
