The Los Angeles Lakers have not even played an official regular-season game yet and we have already seen Anthony Davis get added to the injury report. Despite being listed in the starting five by Darvin Ham, Davis was eventually pulled out of Wednesday’s preseason game with back tightness.
Los Angeles is obviously being extremely cautious in the preseason and based on how the team has communicated this injury, it does not seem to be anything serious for Davis. It is standard to hold a star player out of the preseason if they are feeling any sort of discomfort.
While the injury itself might not be serious, it is part of a bigger picture with Davis. AD obviously has a reputation for being injured and missing games and having this happen after playing one preseason game obviously is not going to help that narrative.
Most of all, Anthony Davis proved why Lakers fans cannot trust him to stay healthy.
The fact of the matter is that Anthony Davis has only played half a season in each of the last two years. And while there were more complex issues with the team last season, him missing all that time (and eventually the playoffs in 2021) is a big reason why LA has failed in the last two years.
Keep in mind that Davis is turning 30 this season as well. He is no longer the young 26-year-old who has not even hit his prime. He might be in his athletic prime right now, but injuries don’t tend to slow down when you are in your 30s. They tend to speed up.
Most fans would not even bat an eye if this was a different player but Davis does not get the benefit of the doubt because of his track record. He is injured so frequently and so often that any possible ailment has to be taken seriously. This is not going to derail his 2022-23 season, but could it slow down the start of it? Possibly.
At the end of the day, every Lakers fan knows how immensely talented Anthony Davis is and that when he is right, he is a top-10 player in the league. Everyone knows that the ceiling of the team is directly correlated to Davis and how much he plays.
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The problem is that he does not play very much and after two years of seeing the same thing over and over, fans have lost trust in the star forward. Until he can prove them otherwise, smaller injuries like this are going to seem much more significant.