On Wednesday, the Lakers suffered their fourth defeat in five games, as Ja Morant and the Grizzlies thrashed them 131-114 in the last of LA’s abysmal five-game road trip. Anthony Davis missed the game with an ankle injury and his team looked like a shadow of themselves without him on the court.
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The nine-time All-Star’s importance for the Lakers cannot be understated. He’s averaging nearly 32 points and 12 rebounds this season and his stellar form was key to their 3-0 start to the campaign. He’s the best defensive player on the roster by some distance and his offensive output under new head coach JJ Redick is among the highest in the league.
Without him, there’s little belief that the Lakers would be able to beat the 76ers on Friday night, despite Philadelphia missing Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Davis is yet to be cleared to play but has been listed as probable on the NBA’s latest injury report, suggesting he’ll suit up.
The veteran was reportedly willing to play on Wednesday night in Memphis, but the Lakers felt it was in their best interest to give him the night off. Explaining why the team held him back, Redick told reporters,
“He was very positive about how it felt but we recognize we got a long flight back to L.A. and we got to turn around and do it again on Friday. So hopefully the extra 48 hours of rest will be good.”
Davis is one of the frontrunners to win the MVP award and he made it known at the start of the season that he’s keen on winning the Defensive Player of the Year award as well.
To win those awards, he’d not only have to continue to play as well as he is, but also play at least 65 regular season games to be eligible. That explains why he was willing to play against the Grizzlies despite suffering an injury in the Lakers’ previous outing against the Pistons.
Their campaign hinges on Davis’ availability and they’ll be ecstatic to know that he’s willing to push past the pain barrier to help the team.
