The Los Angeles Lakers' injury problems continued on Friday night when star big man Anthony Davis left the game with an apparent left knee injury during the team's 110-92 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Davis underwent an MRI on the knee and it revealed an MCL sprain, the team announced. Davis will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
The injury occurred in the middle of the third quarter, after LeBron James passed the ball to Davis, then tried to create some space by pushing off on Jaden McDaniels. LeBron was called for an offensive foul on the play, but the bigger issue was that McDaniels fell directly into Davis' leg. You can see the play below:
AD limped back to the locker room after McDaniels fell into his left knee. 🙏 #LakeShow https://t.co/32dvv9YHjS pic.twitter.com/Xwa8h1xVzh
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 18, 2021
Davis immediately collapsed and clutched his knee in obvious pain. As he tried to make his way to the locker room under his own power, he then collapsed in the tunnel and had to be helped the rest of the way.
Anthony Davis struggled to get to the locker room after an apparent knee injury in the third quarter. pic.twitter.com/MOBSzzrYYJ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 18, 2021
This incident involving Davis highlights the Lakers' current problems. Like most teams in the league, they're shorthanded right now due to injuries and players in the health and safety protocols. In fact, things were so bad that they were granted a hardship exception that allowed them to sign veteran guard Isaiah Thomas out of the G League. Thomas joined the team in Minneapolis and suited up against the Timberwolves for his first NBA game since late last season. Now they'll be forced to play on without Davis for the foreseeable future.
