The Los Angeles Lakers have looked like a solid playoff team since February, even with LeBron James spending a lot of time on the injury reserves list.
Anthony Davis has led the team admirably in James’ absence, despite a few tough outings. After a monster 35-point, 17-rebound performance in a win against the Pelicans, Davis will not be playing tomorrow against the Houston Rockets.
Anthony Davis will not play tomorrow in Houston, according to Darvin Ham. There was an organizational decision to keep him out of back-to-backs, even though Ham stressed that Davis remains pain free playing on the foot that kept him out of 20 games earlier this season.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 15, 2023
Coach Darvin Ham has said that they’re doing this to protect a ‘pain-free’ AD from reinjuring his right foot, which caused him to miss 20 games earlier this season. Given the importance of the Lakers’ game on Friday against the Dallas Mavericks, this decision could be to protect the team’s larger interests.
Is It A Good Decision To Bench Anthony Davis?
Darvin Ham had said that the Lakers will not be load-managing players on back-to-backs after the trade deadline to maximize their playoff chances. The Lakers have been mostly consistent and have already broken into the play-in tournament, making Ham more comfortable with protecting his lone superstar right now.
The Rockets are one of the worst teams in the NBA right now. Despite stealing a win from the Denver Nuggets recently, the Lakers will feel confident in their roster to be able to win this game even if AD isn’t available.
The Lakers are currently tied with the Dallas Mavericks, who face the San Antonio Spurs next. The Mavericks are expected to not play Luka Doncic and possibly Kyrie Irving to protect them from injuries against the Spurs, so it’s only right that the Lakers protect AD against the Rockets. Their Friday night clash will be extremely important for both teams’ playoff hopes, so keeping AD fresh for that makes a lot of sense as well.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
