The Los Angeles Lakers season may hinge on how badly injured the Achilles of superstar big man Anthony Davis is, after he aggravated the injury during Sunday’s blowout loss to the Denver Nuggets.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the injury forced the Lakers to hold Davis out of the second half of action and the team officially termed it a right Achilles strain, adding that Davis will undergo an MRI on Monday in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
But if the injury is serious, and shelves Davis, 27, for an extended period of time, it could be a big problem for the defending NBA champions.
“I mean, you kind of learn a lot from the MRI, so kind of just waiting on that,” Davis said following Sunday’s game, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Obviously, the doctors don’t want to rule out anything and then it’s something, or say it’s something, then it’s not. But they say everything looks good, but you still want the MRI just to make sure.”
“I think [Sunday] was the first day where it felt completely fine,” Davis said. “Didn’t feel it at all this morning, afternoon, pregame, anything.”
Davis suffered the injury when he bumped legs with Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic while driving to the basket during the second quarter, which saw Jokic’s knee make contact with Davis’ right quad.
Davis took his free throws and then limped toward the locker room, a scary sight for his teammates, and Lakers fans as well.
“Just overall safety and health of him” Lakers forward LeBron James said. “That’s my only concern watching him shuffle off the floor and get back into the locker room. We were playing some great basketball up until then.”
Davis sat out two games prior to Friday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, and has been experiencing discomfort in his lower right leg for weeks.
“I felt great coming back the first time against Memphis, and I’m gonna do the same thing, the same steps to get it back right,” Davis said. “Obviously, be a little more smarter with it, like I was smart the first time, but even more smarter. Up the treatment more — instead of three times a day, maybe five times a day just trying to get it back where it needs to be done out there and help the team.”
“I do put a lot of pressure on myself to go out there and play. If I feel I can go out there and play, I will. Just for the simple fact that I want to be able to help my team. And I can help my team from the sidelines, but I think I’m more effective when I’m on the floor. And they pay me to play,” Davis said.
“But this one is a little different that I definitely have to be smart with. I don’t want to go out there and try to play and risk it for the long term. So, all that is inclusive of what the MRI shows tomorrow. Knock on wood, it’s great information — and I’ll be out there sooner than later.”
With Davis out, the Lakers will lean on forward Kyle Kuzma to pick up the scoring.
