There are some signs that Anthony Davis may be more hurt than the Los Angeles Lakers are letting on. Should fans be worried?
If you’ve been following the NBA for the past five years, you probably have heard about the durability concerns of Los Angeles Lakers superstar big man, Anthony Davis. Every season, he seems to pick up a couple of random injuries and this season seems to be no exception.
It’s already been reported that the Laker big man is dealing with a shoulder injury, which has been affecting his play on the court.
It doesn’t help that Davis fluctuates in terms of how hampered he is by this injury. One night he’s dropping 40 points and 20 rebounds against the Grizzlies, looking nigh unstoppable in the process. Other nights, such as the Nov. 17 game against the Hawks, he’s limited to 14 points, and a single rebound; hesitant to draw any contact, or go anywhere near the paint.
The two injuries Davis seems to be dealing with are his shoulder and ribs. Davis appeared to aggravate his shoulder in the third game of the season against the Hornets, and it’s been causing him discomfort ever since.
This video from 3cbperformance takes a deeper dive into the medical aspects of what may be causing Davis’ shoulder troubles. But it doesn’t take a doctor to know that something is clearly wrong with Davis healthwise.
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What’s more interesting, is that Kendrick Perkins, a former teammate of Davis in New Orleans, appeared on ESPN’s The Jump, and said that he had been dealing with issues with his shoulder for years, so it’s hard to say how much this is really affecting him.
The rib injury is more recent and happened a couple of weeks later in the first quarter of a game against the Phoenix Suns, which caused Davis to sit out the next game against the Golden State Warriors.
He seemed to recover enough to return to action against the Kings, but every now and then you’ll catch glimpses of Davis grabbing his sides in obvious discomfort.
The question really boils down to how severe are the shoulder and rib injuries and is it something that either needs to be managed or addressed via surgery/rest?
It’s silly to think that the Lakers’ medical staff is allowing Davis to play hurt, as they would absolutely shut him down if they felt that these injuries were that bad. But overall, it doesn’t hurt to be more mindful of sitting Davis in key spots, if it means keeping him healthy come playoff time.
However, a big reason for optimism is Judy Seto, who the team hired as Director of Sports Performance earlier this offseason, and was a key figure during Kobe Bryant’s time with the team. Bryant has stated in the past that she was instrumental in maintaining his overall health and conditioning. It’s safe to say that Davis is in good hands.
The Lakers are currently standing at the top of the Western Conference with a 17-2 record, but are in the midst of a stretch of schedule that features twelve out of the next fifteen games being played on the road.