Before the Lakers faced the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night, for the first time in at least a week, the Achilles tendinosis that Anthony Davis has been dealing with “looked completely fine” all day.
“I didn’t feel it this morning, late, before the game, nothing. I just felt that we were going in the right direction on the treatment side and the rehabilitation side, ”said Davis.
That all changed in the second quarter in Denver, when Davis suffered an Achilles tendon strain that forced him to leave the game for the rest of the night and will need an MRI on Monday. He is clearly trying to maintain a positive attitude about this, but he admitted that the situation is not fun.
“This is another setback, but it’s part of the game,” said Davis. “(It’s) more frustrating that I can’t go out there and play, but you don’t want to deal with that kind of injury. So, he’s trying to figure out the best steps after receiving tomorrow’s MRI information. “
Davis says he has no long-term concerns about the injury and that he does not regret his decision to continue playing for it, even after feeling pain during the team’s previous game against the Memphis Grizzlies, their first lap in the lineup after losing the previous two with the same injury.
“I felt great returning the first time against Memphis, and I’m going to do the same thing, the same steps to get it right,” said Davis. “I feel like I was ready to go, the team training looked like I was ready to go. I picked it up the day before the Memphis game and it felt good, I woke up the next day and it felt good.
“I think we took all the right steps to get back, and after the game with Memphis I felt good the next day. I felt good yesterday and even today I felt good. It was great in the first quarter, it was great from the moment I entered the second half until the last move, ”continued Davis. “I think it was just the way I moved and stepped that aggravated the injury, but I don’t think I came back running.”
Coach Frank Vogel also did not want to question the decision to let Davis play. He reiterated that they had discussed the matter with the medical team and that the Lakers would not have let Davis dress if they thought the injury could get worse.
“If the medical team releases him to play, he plays,” said Vogel.
Still, Davis said he wanted to be “smarter” about how to handle his return next time, while also (somewhat paradoxically) making it clear that he wants to return quickly, saying he would consider receiving treatment five times a day instead of three current times “to try to put it back where it needs to be.” He said the training team froze him after the game and put extra heels on his shoes – which he also wears in games – to relieve pressure on the Achilles tendon. At night, he is sleeping on a sleeve that, according to him, keeps the tendon flexed so that it does not “shorten”.
Davis is doing everything because he believes that famous players should play when they can, and he wants not only to help his team on the court, but also to shake the “injury-prone” label that has labeled him for much of his career.
“I got over it last year and even in my last two years in New Orleans, just playing through injuries and knowing what my body can take, what it can take and if it’s something smaller, it’s okay, I’m going there and play, ”said Davis. “I felt I was well enough to go out there and play … But this injury is a little bit different. Because it’s Aquiles and you definitely want to make sure it doesn’t get any worse, but I put a lot of pressure on myself to go out there and play.
“If I feel that I can go there, I will, simply because I want to be able to help my team. And I can help my team on the sidelines, but I think I’m more effective when I’m on the court. And they pay me to play. I go there and try to compete at the highest level and do what I can to help this team, ”continued Davis. “If that means I’m going over there and threw some scratches and bruises, then this is it.”
Still, co-star LeBron James says Davis should not be pressured to return at the expense of his long-term health or the risk of further injury. He says it’s at the Lakers to play championship-level basketball, whether Davis is on the floor or not, and that while no player can replace his production, they can try to win committee games while Davis tries to get it right.
“For me, all I care about is his health. I want him to be healthy. Our team needs him to be healthy, ”said James. “He needs to make sure he takes all precautions and does due diligence on what is going on with his injury, and be sure when he comes back. So, no hurry, no schedule. We have no idea of that aspect, but we just want him to be healthy and back at full strength. “
And as much as Davis wants to play and remain optimistic, it seems that this scare may have been a bit of an alert.
“This is a little bit different that I feel I have to be smarter with, and I don’t want to go around and try to be Superman and take risks in the long run,” said Davis. “But it all depends on tomorrow’s MRI. I hope it is great information and I will be there sooner or later. “
The Lakers expect that too. They would be well served to ensure that Davis is healthy whenever he does.
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