With the Los Angeles Lakers having fallen to the middle of the pack in the Western Conference standings, the last thing they need is an injury to one of their best players. But on Wednesday night, the Lakers saw Anthony Davis have to exit to the locker room early in their contest against the Sacramento Kings after aggravating his shoulder injury, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
As one would recall, Davis first sustained this injury back on Sunday, when he crumpled immediately to the hardwood after straining his shoulder while fighting for a loose ball. The good news was that he returned later on in the contest for the Lakers and finished off their 116-110 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, putting up 40 points and 16 rebounds in a resounding effort.
Following that game, Lakers head coach JJ Redick called Davis' injury just a stinger. And that appears to be the case again, as the Lakers have announced that Davis is available to return to the game, as per Buha.
The Lakers will need Davis to be at his best once again on Wednesday, especially against a Kings team that seems to have gotten the best of him in recent seasons. His head-to-head record against Domantas Sabonis isn't the best, and this game is another opportunity for him to improve in this regard.
Davis hasn't yet re-entered the game for the Lakers since exiting. Prior to heading to the locker room, he put up six points and seven rebounds while adding a steal and a block. At the time of writing, the Lakers are leading the Kings, 43-35, with 8:40 left in the second quarter.
Are the Lakers righting the ship?
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Not progressing in the NBA Cup may have been a blessing in disguise for the Lakers. While they would have wanted to defend their crown and get another chance at winning a cool $500,000 each, in the grand scheme of things, the Lakers will most definitely prioritize keeping their players healthy in preparation for the playoff run they're envisioning for themselves.
LeBron James, in particular, was able to take an eight-day break from the Lakers to sort out his body, and he only missed two games during that span because of the NBA Cup schedule. Anthony Davis, who has had a penchant throughout his career of picking up little injuries, was also helped a lot by the easing of the schedule in recent weeks.
