With the Los Angeles Lakers set to face off against the Toronto Raptors tonight in the third game of their road trip, the team may have gotten some injury boosts. According to Lakers insider Daniel Starkland, Anthony Davis (right hip soreness) and D’Angelo Russell (back soreness) are listed as probable to play tonight.
While Davis and Russell are likely to play tonight, some players will have to wait a little longer to return to the court, as Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot injury) and Christian Wood (left knee injury) are still listed as out as they continue their respective recoveries. Jalen Hood-Schifino, Quincy Olivari, Maxwell Lewis, and Armel Traore are with the G-League unit in South Bay.
But Lakers fans will be happy about the latest injury report and hope that neither Davis nor Russell will be downgraded to questionable or out in the hours closer to the game, as they are pivotal parts of the team’s starting lineups.
Anthony Davis especially, has been sensational since the start of the new season, reminding fans why he is, on his best day, the best two-way player in the NBA. His offensive and defensive prowess have been on full display for fans to see in the opening five games of the season.
As for D’Angelo Russell, while he is far from at his best right now, with many believing that he has underwhelmed in his first few appearances this season, has earned the trust and support of Lakers head coach JJ Redick. D’Lo is currently averaging 10.8 points, 5.8 assists, 2.2 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game.
But fans will hope that Russell can begin to turn things around for the season tonight. The game against the Raptors is important for the Lakers, as they are currently on a two-game losing streak, and will be looking to break that.
After starting the season off 3-0, their best start in 14 years, the Lakers have fallen into a slump and will want to put an end to said slump and salvage some games from the remainder of this road trip before returning back to the Crypto.com Arena, where they are undefeated so far.
Anthony Davis Has Historic Start To Season
Anthony Davis, as mentioned before, has started out the season on fire. In fact, Davis became the first player in 15 years, since Kobe Bryant, to score 150+ (153 to be exact) points in the first five games of the NBA season. It is imperative that Davis continue this form if the Lakers want to experience any major success this season.
In the first five games, Anthony Davis is averaging 30.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.6 steals, and 2.0 blocks per game. This is the kind of form Lakers fans expect from him game in and game out, as he is one of the best players in the NBA, and should be the leader of the team on both ends of the court.
It is clear that LeBron James, while still incredible, is in decline. This means that it is now up to Anthony Davis to lead this team as the best player and make sure that the rest of the roster is rising up to his level.
The Lakers have reminded fans why they should always be considered contenders if they have Anthony Davis and LeBron James, but now, they must ensure that they do not squander this momentum later in the season, and keep it going till the end of the year.
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