On Saturday, the Los Angeles Lakers will travel to Ball Arena in Denver to face the defending NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets, in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. The two teams are meeting in the playoffs for the second year in a row. They faced off in the Western Conference Finals last season where the Nuggets humbled the Lakers 4-0 en route to their maiden NBA title. The Lakers are gunning for revenge this time around and a win over the Nuggets in Game 1 on the road would be the perfect start to achieving that goal. However, LA fans are concerned about their star forward Anthony Davis’ fitness, who has been listed on the NBA’s latest injury report ahead of Saturday’s critical clash.
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The Lakers superstar suffered a back injury in their regular season finale against the New Orleans Pelicans. Davis finished the game and featured in the Lakers’ subsequent game in the play-in tournament against the Pelicans. He scored 20 points to help LA secure the win and their playoff berth. AD’s back on the injury report ahead of Game 1. However, his status has been listed as ‘probable’ for the Nuggets contest, which means that he is likely to suit up for the game albeit for restricted minutes.
The Lakers need Davis in top form in the series, especially considering he’ll be the primary defender guarding the two-time MVP and reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic. LA is heavily reliant on their superstar center on the defensive end and without him firing on all cylinders, this series would be short and easy for Denver.
Anthony Davis’ terrible record against Nikola Jokic and Co.
The series against the Nuggets is a chance at redemption for the Lakers following their 4-0 thrashing in last year’s playoffs. But no player has more at stake than Anthony Davis. The superstar center has been horrendous, by his lofty standards, against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets since the start of the 2022-23 season.
In that span, Davis has played 10 games against Denver, including the playoffs, and has averaged 22.8 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists on 50.9% shooting from the field and only 30% from beyond the arc. On the flip side, Jokic has averaged 27.8 points, 13.2 rebounds and 9.7 assists on 54.1% shooting from the field and 35.6% on three-point shot attempts. Davis and the Lakers are 2-8 in those 10 games.
Before the season, Davis claimed LA had a “lot of motivation” to avenge their humiliating loss to Denver. However, the Lakers went 0-4 against the Nuggets in the regular season, with their superstar center featuring in three of those losses. Davis has another shot at avenging last year’s Western Conference Finals loss and it remains to be seen whether he comes through or falters again.
