Predicting the Lakers’ record while Anthony Davis is injured
By Jason Reed
Lakers fans got horrible news on Sunday as it was reported that Anthony Davis will be out for at least a month with a right foot injury that he suffered on Friday. Davis was playing at an otherworldly level and the team was finally starting to gain some traction as a unit.
Now, the Lakers are in survival mode as they try to stay relevant in the Western Conference playoff picture without Davis. The team was able to do that in its first game without AD on Sunday but it did not come against the best competition in the Washington Wizards.
The opponents are going to get tougher and the Lakers are going to be without Davis for a sustainable number of games. If Davis were to miss exactly a month and return on January 18 against the Sacramento Kings, he would have missed 16 games. However, if Davis does not return until February then his games missed total will jump to 24.
The injury situation seems fluid and it is impossible to currently pinpoint exactly how long he will be out. Lakers fans should probably anticipate Davis to be out until February just to tamper expectations, but he could be back by mid-January.
Predicting the Lakers’ record while Anthony Davis is injured:
Let’s say the best-case scenario happens for Anthony Davis and he returns after a month of action. If so, here is how we see the Lakers faring:
December 19 at Phoenix Suns: Loss
The Phoenix Suns are already a really hard basketball team to beat when Davis is healthy. Anything can happen in the NBA but I would expect a Lakers loss to the Suns on the second leg of a back-to-back.
December 21 at Sacramento Kings: Loss
The Sacramento Kings are playing really good basketball as of late and without AD, the Lakers aren’t going to be able to take advantage of a mismatch down low.
December 23 vs Charlotte Hornets: Win
Charlotte is one of the worst teams in the league and is already playing for draft position.
December 25 at Dallas Mavericks: Loss
This Christmas matchup just got much worse as it will be the Luka Doncic vs. LeBron James isolation show. Luka will get the W.
December 27 at Orlando Magic: Win
Orlando has a fun young core that has a lot of potential but they are not all the way there yet. This is a game that the Lakers should be able to win.
December 28 at Miami Heat: Win
Yes, it is the second leg of a back-to-back and it is against the Miami Heat. That being said, Miami has not been as good this year and LeBron always plays well in South Beach. We cannot pick chalk for every game.
December 30 at Atlanta Hawks: Loss
Atlanta has been disappointing this season and this will be a close game that the Lakers ultimately fall on the losing end of.
January 2 at Charlotte Hornets: Win
The location of this game does not matter. The Lakers should be able to beat the Hornets both times.
January 4 vs Miami Heat: Loss
The Heat get their revenge in Los Angeles a week after losing to the Lakers. Splitting with the Heat without AD is not the worst thing in the world.
January 6 vs Atlanta Hawks: Win
The Lakers get their revenge in Los Angeles a week after losing to the Hawks. Splitting with the Hawks without AD is not the worst thing in the world. Deja vu?
January 7 at Sacramento Kings: Loss
As the second leg of a back-to-back and a third game in four days, it is hard to pick the Lakers on the road against a team that can three-point shoot them out of the building.
January 9 at Denver Nuggets: Loss
The Lakers were able to get it done against the Denver Nuggets in the game that AD got hurt. That will not be the case for this January matchup.
January 12 vs Dallas Mavericks: Loss
Luka Doncic gets it done again against the Lakers. If Anthony Davis was playing the Mavericks are a great matchup for LA. Without him, it is a loss.
January 15 vs Philadelphia 76ers: Loss
Joel Embiid is going to feast on this Lakers team without Anthony Davis as the Lakers will lose a fourth game in a row.
January 16 vs Houston Rockets: Win
The Lakers end their losing streak right in time for Davis to return a month after being hurt. Houston has promising young pieces but the Lakers should be able to get the job done at home against them.
Lakers record during Anthony Davis injury: 7-9 (overall record: 19-25)
It is completely possible for LA to stay afloat without Davis. After beating the Wizards on Sunday, if the team can follow thes predictions and go 6-9 in their next 15 then they will have a 19-25 record when AD returns.
That is not great, but they would at least be close enough to .500 to turn the season around if Davis and LeBron can stay healthy.
But if Anthony Davis misses more games then the team simply could run out of time and see the 2022-23 season slip between its fingers.