It has been a month since Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis suffered an injury. In their December 17 matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the 28-year-old center sustained an MCL injury after Timberwolves big man Jaden McDaniels collapsed into his left knee. With Davis on the sideline, the Lakers have struggled to consistently win games.
Since losing their second-best player, the Lakers went 5-8. As of now, they are sitting in the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference with a 21-22 record.
Anthony Davis Injury Updates
Luckily for the Lakers, it may only be a matter of time before they see Davis play on the court again. In a recent article, Dave McMenamin of ESPN shared some positive updates regarding Davis’ rehabilitation. Four weeks after suffering an MCL injury, McMenamin revealed that the Lakers big man has already participated in an individual on-court workout on Friday.
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel reportedly said that Davis would be reevaluated by the team doctors early next week. If he won’t show any setback, he’s expected to return on the Lakers’ road trip at the end of January.
Anthony Davis Trying To Lose Some Weight
Aside from making sure that he would fully recover from his injury, Davis is also trying to improve his physique while he’s under rehabilitation. In an appearance on the Underdogs Podcast, via Youtube, former Lakers power forward Jared Dudley revealed that Davis reached out to him to get some advice about weight loss.
“I lose 20 pounds in-season, which is almost impossible to do that at the time for the Lakers, and I’m not even playing," Dudley said, as quoted by Lakers Nation. "It’s so funny, now AD has the same injury now and now he’s calling me ‘Hey, what did you do?’ Cause he saw me. ‘Jared’s in the weight room doing cardio an hour before practice. He’s sweating and now it’s practice time.’ And I don’t get to practice. It’s the top ten guys. But he sees me going crazy and now practice is over, now I’m in the weight room doing stuff for my knee.”
Weight Loss Connected To Lakers' Strategy
After missing 13 games, it only makes sense for Davis to ask Dudley some advice about losing weight. Dudley succeeded with his weight loss last season when he’s dealing with the same injury as Davis. Having a leaner Davis when he finally returns to action would be beneficial for the Lakers, especially now that Vogel has shifted to a small-ball strategy in the 2021-22 NBA season.
If Davis could increase his speed while staying a dominant force under the basket, the Lakers would be harder to guard on the offensive end of the floor.
Lakers Need Major Roster Upgrade
Having Davis back on the court would undeniably boost the Lakers’ performance on both ends of the floor. However, the Lakers shouldn’t just sit quietly while waiting for Davis to return. If they are serious about fully dominating the Western Conference and winning the NBA championship title this season, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka should find a way to improve their roster around James and Davis before the 2022 NBA trade deadline.
Some of the potential trade targets for the Lakers include Jerami Grant of the Detroit Pistons and Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers.
]]>The Inquisitr
