NBA champion Anthony Davis is expected to return to the Los Angeles Lakers lineup soon after missing the last four weeks of action due to a right foot injury.
Davis was hurt on Dec. 16 during a game against the Denver Nuggets after scoring a bucket in the paint on Nikola Jokic.
Anthony Davis scored 10 PTS in 17 MINS before leaving the game with a right foot injury. pic.twitter.com/cIa4ivrFYw
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) December 17, 2022
Davis has made progress during his rehabilitation and could potentially return for the Lakers matchup against the Boston Celtics on Jan. 28, according to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
Davis, out since Dec. 16 with a right foot stress injury, has been ramping-up his activity on the court.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 20, 2023
Since Davis went down with the injury, the Lakers have gone 8-9. The Lakers are currently ranked 13th in the Western Conference playoff standings. They are two games out from being in the postseason play-in, according to ESPN.
Davis’ return will benefit the Lakers and I believe he will help them reach the postseason. The duo of him and LeBron James is too good to not sneak into the playoffs. That said, if and when they make it there, they’ll be bounced out from the tournament in the first or second round. The Lakers roster outside of Davis and LeBron is just below-average. (RELATED: NBA All-Star LaMelo Ball Suffers Another Tough Injury. Is He Injury Prone?)
In a seven-game playoff series, teams will focus their defenses on shutting down A.D. and LeBron. Once the ball is out of their hands, who will guide them to victory? Russell Westbrook won’t do it because he’s washed up. Patrick Beverley won’t because he averages under six points per game. Austin Reaves is just barely good enough to be in the NBA. The list goes on and on. Los Angeles lacks depth and unless they make a trade (and it looks like they won’t) they’ll be lucky to just make it into the postseason this year.
I expect Davis and James to have games where they light the scoreboard up for 40 points or more, but once they play in games that matter, they’ll be beaten epically.