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The Los Angeles Lakers have been without Anthony Davis for a full month, and his absence is beginning to take its toll. After winning five games in a row without Davis, they’ve now lost their last three, two of which came in heartbreaking fashion due to controversial calls at the end of the game. Given their limited depth and the other injuries they’re currently dealing with, the Lakers need Davis back on the floor as quickly as possible if they are going to secure their place in the postseason.
Fortunately, the news surrounding Davis and his recovery continue to be positive. Last week, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that Davis was getting ready to begin his ramp-up to resume playing, and now, The Athletic’s Shams Charania is reporting that the Lakers are hopeful that Davis can return for a few games before the All-Star break. According to Charania, Davis is going to start running now, and then move into contact work after that. The hope would be that Davis could play in a handful of games before the break.
The All-Star break will begin on Thursday, Feb. 16. A week earlier, another key date sits on the NBA calendar: the Feb. 9 trade deadline. In a perfect world, the Lakers would love to have him back before then so they could see what their whole, healthy team looks like before deciding whether or not to make a deal. Even if Davis returns after that, he could help integrate any new players the Lakers acquire if he makes it back before the All-Star break.
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Davis was playing arguably the best basketball of his career before getting injured. He was averaging 27.4 points and 12.1 rebounds per game in leading the Lakers back from a 2-10 start into the play-in race. But after leading the Lakers for the first two months of the season, Davis suffered a stress injury in his foot. He also revealed that he is dealing with a bone spur that may have existed since his college days at Kentucky.
All told, the Lakers are likely going to be cautious. If a few missed games in February means a healthy Davis in April, the Lakers will likely take that tradeoff. Still, the news continues to be positive, so if he continues to recover as planned, don’t be surprised to see Davis in a Lakers uniform sooner rather than later.
