Anthony Davis was having a great game against the Utah Jazz before he rolled his ankle and had to be helped off the court. The superstar had 17 points after playing just 17 minutes and was on his way to a dominant performance. The Lakers have been struggling all season but showed signs of figuring things out in a close game against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday (13 February). The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Seeing Davis writhing in pain I was almost sure it was an Achilles injury. Thankfully X-rays showed that there were no fractures and that the 8-time All-star only had a right ankle sprain. While the injury does sideline the superstar for a few games, the Lakers can breathe a sigh of relief that he will be back before the playoffs. Head Coach Frank Vogel said that AD will be reevaluated after the All-star game.
The power forward went up for a lob from teammate Malik Monk before he landed awkwardly and rolled his ankle outwards. Davis seemed to be in extreme pain and was grabbing his foot and wincing until he was helped off the floor by Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan. The injury was extremely scary and Davis being injury prone has been an issue throughout his career. Luckily it wasn’t very serious and we should see him back on the floor in a few weeks.
The Lakers did end up winning the game despite Ad’s absence, on the back of LeBron James’ monster performance. The King took over in the 4th quarter and led the Lakers to a 106-101 victory over the Jazz. The Lakers are also playing some great defence over the last 2 games and if they can figure out how to be more in sync offensively, they could be a very dangerous team in the playoffs.
After the game, Anthony Davis was reported to have left on crutches. The Laker Big man had already missed a month of action due to a knee injury. The Lakers will need Davis to get back as soon as possible because of their schedule. The Lakers have the toughest remaining schedule in the league. It is too much to ask of LeBron to win games in his 19th season and hopefully, AD can get back fast enough to help take the load off of him.