Los Angeles Lakers: How the injury to Anthony Davis will impact the team

How much of an impact will Anthony Davis’s injury have on the Los Angeles Lakers?

It can be a devastating blow for any team to lose a star player, especially one of Anthony Davis‘s caliber. Luckily for the Los Angeles Lakers, they have LeBron James who can shoulder the load and hold down the fort until AD returns.

The Lakers have to be very cautious about how they handle this injury and be certain not to rush Davis back. Don’t get me wrong because James is an incredible athlete and can dominate a game by himself on any given night, but the Lakers will eventually need Davis to be able to compete in a rough and rugged Western Conference.

Davis suffered a calf strain near his Achilles, and there is a great level of concern especially after how things played out for Kevin Durant when he tore his Achilles after he came back too soon and that’s the last thing anybody wants to see. Davis is expected to miss at least a month and could possibly miss more time than that.

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For the Lakers, it’s all about protecting their investment as they finalized a five-year deal worth $190 million during the offseason. The Lakers are currently in second place in the West and securing a No. 1 seed will be more difficult to obtain with Davis’s extended absence.

Davis is averaging 22.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game so far this season and serves as an elite defender who protects the paint and is a huge reason why the Lakers boast the No. 1 defense in the NBA.

The Lakers have some important games coming up on their schedule in the next few days with marquee matchups against the Miami Heat in an NBA Finals rematch from last season, the Utah Jazz (who currently own the No. 1 seed in the West), the red-hot Blazers led by MVP candidate Damian Lillard, the Golden State Warriors, and the Phoenix Suns.

This will be a difficult stretch without Davis as these games could very well determine playoff positioning in the long run not to mention homecourt advantage. The question to ask is whether the Lakers decide to manage James’s minutes and workload and try to keep him refreshed and ready to go by playoff time?

And who will be the player or players to step up their production while Davis is healing? This could serve as a golden opportunity for Kyle Kuzma to take on more of a role on offense and be the second scoring option behind James. Kuzma is currently scoring 10.8 points and 6.0 rebounds so far this season and could see an increase in his 25 minutes per game while an uptick in production could happen with more shot attempts.

Also, expect more production out of veteran Marc Gasol as he was expected to be a role player off the bench when the Lakers signed him in the offseason. There may be games where head coach Frank Vogel decides to insert Gasol into the starting lineup depending on the matchups but look for Gasol to try and focus on impacting the game more on the defensive end.

The Lakers are 5.1 points better per 100 possessions with Davis on the floor. While Davis is on the court, the Lakers have an offensive rating of115.3 and a defensive rating of 106.2 with a net rating of plus 9.1. When Davis is on the bench the Lakers have an offensive rating of 106.0 and a defensive rating of 102.0 with a plus 4.0 net rating.

This shows just how much better Davis makes this team and how he truly impacts both sides of the floor. Worst case scenario, Davis sits out the rest of the season, the Lakers clinch a lower seed than they expected but Davis returns healthy and ready to go.

It’s better to deal with the tough games and adversity they may face throughout the regular season than to rush Davis back and have him re-aggravate the injury making him miss even more time or possibly missing the playoffs. James can navigate through the marathon of the regular season but they will need Davis to get through the challenge of the gauntlet of the NBA playoffs.