Covid-19 has already plagued the NBA season. Many teams already have respective main stars sidelined due to NBA safety protocol. LA Lakers have 6 players out because of Covid-19. To add to the misery, Anthony Davis recently suffered a knee injury and will be out for 4 weeks as confirmed by the Lakers.
LA Lakers were at Minnesota for the matchup against the Timberwolves. The Wolves were already dominating the game with 9 point halftime lead. LA team needed their big man Davis to perform, but he left the game in 3rd quarter with a left knee injury.
The injury occurred with 6:40 on the clock in the third quarter, LeBron passed the ball to Davis, who passed back the ball to James and move towards the rim for further play. But McDaniels who got a slight push from LeBron on 3 points line, fell directly into Davis’ leg. Davis was holding his left knee and went into the locker room for further assessment. James was called for an offensive foul.
While going into the tunnel, Anthony collapsed again in pain and was taken to the locker room with some help from the staff. MRI on Davis’s knee revealed an MCL sprain. Though he is confirmed to be sidelined for 4 weeks, he will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
How will this injury to Anthony Davis impact the LA Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers had made a stride in the trade market, signing experienced and proven players for the season. Still, the Lakers are not playing like a title contender team and are heavily reliant on the James-Davis pair. LA has a bad experience with injuries to either of the pair in last season as they were eliminated by the Suns in 1st round only.
With LeBron still playing with abdominal issues, the Lakers were hoping to get some momentum going this season. But the team has been hit hard by the Davis injury. Anthony is the Lakers leading scorer this season with 23.3 points per game. He is also leading the team in rebounds (9.9), blocks (2), and steals (1.2) per game.
With Davis out injured, the team will be looking at James and Westbrook to carry the team in tight Western Conference this season.