Anthony Davis could be closing in on a return from injury for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been without Anthony Davis since February 15 and haven’t been the same team since his injury. Even though the team hasn’t been the same, the Lakers have done a good enough job to remain competitive in the Western Conference.
Currently, the Lakers are fifth in the West standings, at 32-19, and just 1.5 games back of the LA Clippers for the third seed. And it appears that there’s help coming sooner rather than later.
According to a recent report, there’s hope that Davis will make his return back into the Lakers’ lineup next week.
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"There is some hope within the organization that he will return to the lineup after the Lakers’ five-game Eastern Conference swing underway, but any injury that involves the Achilles’ tendon, no matter how purportedly mild, is going to spook people until Davis gets back on the floor."
That could put Davis’s potential return for the end of next week. Of course, what Marc Stein notes is true – especially with an Achilles injury, you can never predict how a player is going to respond to rehab or when he’s going to be ready until he’s ready.
Either way, the Lakers will welcome Davis back with open arms.
Since his injury, the Lakers gone 11-12 and have fallen down the West standings. The recent injury to LeBron James hasn’t helped on the front either. I don’t think many teams would be able to hold steady in the standings after losing their two best players.
The Lakers have done as good a job as you’d expect without LeBron and AD, but with roughly 20 games remaining in the regular season before the playoffs, the team needs both back sooner rather than later.
It’s at least a positive sign that there’s somewhat of a target date for AD’s return even if it isn’t set in stone. Before his injury, Davis was averaging 23 points, eight rebounds, and three assists on 53 percent shooting from the field.
If the Lakers are going to accomplish the goals that they have for this season, they’re going to need a healthy Anthony Davis. And you’d have to believe that he’s going to need time to get back in rhythm. That means a return before the end of the regular season is absolutely necessary, especially if they draw a difficult matchup in the first round of the playoffs.
It may come down to the old adage of rest vs. rust for the Lakers heading into the postseason. Then again, are you willing to bet against LeBron James and Anthony Davis in a seven-game series?