Lakers News: How The Anthony Davis Injury Impacts Expectations On His Hall of Fame Teammates

Injuries have continued to be a troubling trend for Anthony Davis this season.

Despite your Los Angeles Lakers’ slow start to the season, Davis has been a necessary force for the team and has given fans something to cheer about. The eight-time NBA All-Star has played arguably some of his best basketball this year. At the same time, the many falls he’s taken this season have also left Lakers fans often holding their breath in question of the big man’s health.

Friday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets was one of those moments, where the power forward left the game with a right foot injury after his foot hit Nikola Jokic’s leg in the first quarter.

Though the team is continuing evaluation, sources have said that Davis could miss up to a month, which leaves a big void for the Lakers.

Davis has been the team’s leading scorer at 27.4 points per game. Not to mention, he also leads the team in rebounds at 12.1 and shot-blocking at 2.1. He adds significant value for the Purple and Gold.

With Davis out, the big question is: How will the Lakers hold up without him?

The Lakers currently sit at the No. 12 seed in the West. Last season, Davis missed 18 consecutive games with a foot injury as well, and there is no doubt that Davis’ absence stains the team’s success. Without him, the Lakers have been 1-2.

As evinced by the fact that Davis made the All-NBA First Team during the Lakers’ 2020 run to a title, L.A. often relies on him on both ends of the floor.

At one point this season, Davis put up back-to-back 40+ point games. Most notably, Davis secured 55 points against the Washington Wizards while compiling 17 rebounds and 3 blocks.

After that electric game, Davis spoke on his performance:

“For me, it’s just being locked in, staying with a mindset of being aggressive, not taking the game off and coming out with the mindset of dominating. Whatever I got to do to help the team win — whether that’s scoring, rebounding, blocking shots. Whatever it is, I’m just trying to do my part.”

His stats this season clearly lay out how dominant he’s been. He has averaged 30.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks while shooting over 64% from the field in the Lakers’ last 15 games.

With the 6'10" big man out of the lineup, the pressure is placed on other players to step up to the plate, just as Thomas Bryant displayed after Davis left the court in Friday’s game.

Having forwards Wenyen Gabriel and Juan Toscano-Anderson sidelined due to injuries of their only hurts the team even more, as they’re left with even less of a height advantage against opponents.

Both Davis and LeBron James have sat out games at different points this season, leaving most of the weight on a remaining two of the team's Big Three. So, with Davis out, much of that load will be shifted towards James and Russell Westbrook.

After taking advantage of his role off the bench, Westbrook has shown more effectiveness, averaging 14.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 7.5 assists.

Fellow teammate, James struggled more this season, with one of his least effective field goal percentages.

Although the two stars may perform well enough during their separate rotations, many have voiced concerns about how the two could play while sharing the floor.

This season alone, James and Westbrook have averaged only 17.2 minutes on the court together, with a minus-0.5 net rating when they are both on the court.

Friday night following the team’s win against the Denver Nuggets, Westbrook shared his thoughts on how he and James were able to provide both their efforts during one stretch of the game.

“I just think the positioning, and 'Bron does a great job of running the floor, and when I’m on the break, I know he’s the best ever once he gets a head of steam. There’s not too much people can do with it, and it’s my job to better find him and make the game easy for him.”

As they await Davis’s return, the two will have to continue to work out their flow and make adjustments for Sunday’s matchup against the Wizards.