When Anthony Davis is on the court this season, the Lakers outscore their opponents by 2 points per 100 possessions. When he sits, they get outscored by 5.2 per 100.
Which is about to be a serious issue as Davis is out indefinitely — some reports say at least a month — with a foot injury. Shams Charania of The Athletic was first with the news.
Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis is expected to miss at least one month after suffering a right foot injury, multiple sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 18, 2022
Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin of ESPN added these details.
This is still vague about the injury meaning we don’t know how long Davis will be out. However, it’s not good news in Los Angeles.
Davis appeared to injure his foot in the first quarter against Denver, when he drove to the rim on Nikola Jokic.
Anthony Davis scored 10 PTS in 17 MINS before leaving the game with a right foot injury. pic.twitter.com/cIa4ivrFYw
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) December 17, 2022
Davis has been one of the most snakebit players with injuries in recent years, missing more than half the Lakers games over the past two seasons.
When healthy he has been a force this season, averaging 24.7 points on 59.3% shooting plus 12.1 rebounds a night. He has embraced playing center again and thrived in the role. He has played at an All-NBA level and shown up on some extended MVP lists.
Davis’ injury leaves the 12-16 Lakers with questions heading into the trade deadline. Should Los Angeles be aggressive in getting another center, maybe the Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic or the Pacers’ Myles Turner? Vucevic would require at least Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and a first-round pick to get a deal done. Or, is that the kind of half-measure the Lakers should avoid and instead wait until next offseason to make a much more bold move? (In an ideal world for Los Angeles, the Bulls would make DeMar DeRozan available in a big trade that would send Russell Westbrook and picks to Chicago, but the Bulls do not appear to be thinking of breaking up their core like that right now.)
The Lakers face the Washington Wizards on Sunday night, without Davis. The first in a string of games without him.