Anthony Davis and the Lakers have been in deep trouble since the last season. For much of that duration, they have looked weak, old, and messy. The story is the same even with Darvin Ham taking over as the head coach. The gold and purple are currently 13th in the Western Conference with just 13 wins. In contrast, they have lost 20 games already.
Advertisement
The issue, until now, has been in the Lakers’ ability to manipulate opposing rhythm and momentum. Even when Ham’s squad has taken a humongous lead, they have lost because the opponents were able to easily cut down the advantage.
So, without a doubt, the problem lies with both the Lakers’ offense and defense. But, at the moment, the hopes of this team making a comeback are thin because of AD’s predicament.
Anthony Davis will continue to remain inactive
Unfortunately for Lakers fans and the Lakers squad, Anthony Davis will not make a miraculous return against the Orlando Magic. He has remained inactive for the last five games and will continue to do so in the near future.
A stress fracture in his right foot has sidelined Anthony Davis indefinitely. Though he is expected to be evaluated in a couple of weeks, it’s safe to assume that the 3-time Block Champion will again miss an extended period of time.
For the Lakers, this means that Davis has played just 163 games in the last four seasons. If Pelinka had signed a healthier center instead of Davis, things would have been very different for the Lakers.
But unfortunately, the team is now stuck, unable to even trade him because it’s likely no team will be interested in an injury-prone athlete. After all, it doesn’t matter if you score 30 every game if you play just 40 games a season.
Here is the play where Anthony Davis got hurt
—First glance is his right ankle gets caught on Jokic in the air
—Possible stretch of peroneal muscles pic.twitter.com/LUF5IdeXxk— Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT (@GameInjuryDoc) December 17, 2022
AD’s stats in 2022-23
It’s unfortunate that Anthony Davis is now sidelined indefinitely. Because he was averaging MVP-worth numbers. Davis was really competing at the highest level. He is averaging 27.4 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. Sadly, the break in the momentum will definitely impact his numbers upon return.
