LOS ANGELES – Ever since Anthony Davis was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, the big man has followed a two-pronged approach to revamping his image: gaining a reputation as a winner and tending his reputation as an injury.
Davis achieved this last year by clinching a season in which he pushed through physical pain to win the first NBA Championship of his career.
He learned in his second season with the Lakers that it is sometimes the best thing to give time to address an injury in order to achieve long-term success.
That was the case for the seven-time All-Star this week, as Davis has suspended the Lakers’ last two games due to tendonosis in his right Achilles tendon.
“I think every other game … I wanted to play in it. It’s just a different circumstance because it’s an Achilles. If it was a quadruple or a finger, I would not mind playing,” said Davis. said Thursday and spoke to reporters for the first time since the revelation of the injury Sunday.
“But I just do not really want to play with an Achilles. Today was the first day we were able to practice and run up a bit with some guys to really test it.
“I just do not want to play a game where I still feel it and then get hurt. Now I’m out for the playoffs or whatever, or for several weeks, where it’s something I can not control and maintain where you now do not miss two games or three games early in the season or mid-season and be ready to go on for the rest of the season. ‘
The Lakers kept their winning streak going without him and beat the Oklahoma City Thunder twice – but they had to come back from early deficits and work overtime in both games to do so.
While the six-game series put the Lakers’ overall record at 20-6 – giving them the second-best record in the league, coach Frank Vogel had a rare practice on Thursday. created rare practice to get Davis a job and sharpen the group.
“We’re trying to have a day where we can have a light load on their legs but still be productive and improve our performance,” Vogel said. “The message to the team was, ‘Good enough, but not good enough. ‘We are good enough to win these matches, but by our standards we are not playing well enough [Thursday] to hopefully improve that performance while trying to keep it fresh. ‘
According to Davis, he had pain around his right calf muscle for several weeks and underwent an ultrasound that confirmed the diagnosis of tendonosis.
“Continued to be really hurt. To push down. Even walking, of course running, jumping, something like that, I would feel it,” Davis said. “So it’s more just hurting and calming it down.”
The Lakers host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, another young team, like the Thunder, hovering around .500, which could make its mark on the season by defeating the champion.
Davis said he will see how his body responds to Thursday’s practice and will determine his playing status closer to playing time.
“We just did drilling, without drilling, which he did everything. He looked good,” Vogel said. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow before we make decisions about the game.”