Anthony Davis injury worse than initially reported

Nine-time Los Angeles Lakers All-Star center/power forward Anthony Davis sat out LA’s 131-114 blowout loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night with a left heel injury. In the absence of Davis and starting forward Rui Hachimura, their All-NBA teammate LeBron James had to step up.

The 20-time All-Star forward scored a game-high 39 points on 15 of 24 shooting from the floor (6 of 11 from 3-point land) and 3 of 4 shooting from the foul line, grabbed seven rebounds, shared six dimes and swiped one steal in the losing effort. Guards Austin Reaves (19 points) and D’Angelo Russell (12 points, in just 21:33) plus newly promoted sixth-man small forward Cam Reddish (15 points) were LA’s only other double-digit scorers.

Backup center Jaxson Hayes started for Davis and scored eight points while shooting 3-for-6 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the foul line while grabbing 10 boards. Two-way center Christian Koloko made his first NBA appearance since his 2022-23 rookie season after recently being cleared by the league to play after being shelved last year with blood clots. He played 13:20 and recorded two points and two rebounds.

Now ESPN’s Shams Charania has revealed more about the exact nature of the condition – and how long the 6-foot-2 superstar has actually been dealing with it.

“The Lakers are hopeful that Anthony Davis will play against the 76ers on ESPN on Friday,” Charania said. “For him, this is a nagging foot injury, a heel injury, which he has been dealing with since the end of last season. In the summer he played with it at the Olympics. And they are confident: there is nothing structurally wrong .” , but (it’s) something he’s going to have to manage, pain tolerance-wise, and they’re hopeful that those 24, 48 hours off that foot will help him go in tomorrow.

Davis, 31, is currently the NBA’s leading scorer, so his absence is understandably deeply felt. He’s also a 2024 All-Defensive Teamer, and his help around the basket had Los Angeles anchored on that end of the floor specifically. This year, the Kentucky product is averaging 32.6 points on 57.1 percent field goal shooting and 78.6 percent free throw shooting, 11.6 points, 3.0 assists and 1.7 blocks per night.

“(Lakers head coach) JJ Redick said last night that they expect Anthony Davis to try on Friday, but this is someone who, even without him last night, you’re going to have a tough time,” Charania said. “You can see this Lakers team is really struggling without Anthony Davis. He’s been dominant on both ends of the court, so they’re hoping he gets back in the lineup this weekend.”

Should Davis return Friday night against Philadelphia, he will play in the paint against former Lakers teammate Andre Drummond. All-Star Philadelphia center Joel Embiid is currently serving a three-game suspension and won’t be available until next week.

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