The Los Angeles Lakers have been struggling without Anthony Davis. Since AD sprained his left knee ACL, the Lakers have played 14 games and have won only 6 of them.
AD suffered his injury on 18th December against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers lost that game and their next 4 games too. Davis’s injury report said that he would be back on the court within 6-8 weeks.
AD limped back to the locker room after McDaniels fell into his left knee. ???? #LakeShow https://t.co/32dvv9YHjS pic.twitter.com/Xwa8h1xVzh
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 18, 2021
Recently his MRI scan came back and was positive. FrankVogel said that “His MRI report came back clean and he’s been cleared for an on-court ramp-up”.Which means he is now cleared for contact practice. However, he gave no clear timeline for his return to the court.
Frank Vogel says Anthony Davis’ MRI came back clean and he’s been cleared for an on-court ramp-up aka contact practice.
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) January 18, 2022
Anthony Davis was also seen practicing his shots before their game against the Utah Jazz.
What will the return of Anthony Davis mean for the Lakers?
Davis has been the Lakers key to the small-ball lineup. His ability to guar 1 to 5 position on the court is exceptional. He is also a great rim protector and can stretch the floor for LeBron and Westbrook.
Since he has been out, the Purple and Gold do not have any starting center. Dwight Howard is old and can only contribute for 15 to 20 minutes. Deandre Jordan is already out of rotation.
Thus it all fell on the shoulders of a 37-year-old LeBron James to play center. However, when AD will be back in the lineup, it’ll be him who will play center for the most part of the game.
He’ll help the Lakers in rebounding the ball better as they have fallen short due to a small ball lineup consisting of LeBron at the center.
And most importantly his offensive presence. Even though Davis is having a bad year in terms of shooting, he has shown his capability to shoot the lights out from the mid-range.
Thus, the only way out of the slump for the Lakers is to get back Anthony Davis. His defensive prowess, ability t stretch the floor, and dominant paint scoring will take the Lakers to the wonderland.
