Anthony Davis has been one of the best players in the NBA this season despite dealing with a nagging shoulder injury. In Tuesday's win over the Phoenix Suns, he suffered a second injury, this time to his ribs. He left the game and quickly returned, ultimately finishing with 24 points and 12 rebounds, but he isn't out of the woods quite yet.
After the game, Davis had X-rays on his sore ribs, and although they reportedly came back negative, he will miss Wednesday's game against the Golden State Warriors due to both the rib and shoulder injuries, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Though the injury doesn't appear to be serious, the Lakers are taking every possible precaution with their MVP candidate. Considering the shoulder injury Davis has been playing through, a rest day would have already have been justified. That is especially true on the second night of a back-to-back that included travel from Phoenix back to Los Angeles. Tonight's game kicks off a four-game homestand, so Davis can recover in Los Angeles.
If Davis is going to miss a game, he could hardly pick a better one than a home date with the Warriors. Golden State is without Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green only just returned from an injury of his own on Monday. The Lakers should feel comfortable in their ability to win this game without Davis, especially since LeBron James is fully healthy. The Lakers will have the only superstar on the floor.
Fortunately for the Lakers, the schedule coming up is relatively easy. They take on the Sacramento Kings on Friday before finishing the homestand with the Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder. That should allow the Lakers to ease Davis back into the lineup slowly if they so choose without taking too big of a hit in the standings. At 8-2, the Lakers currently sit atop the Western Conference and trail only the 8-1 Boston Celtics in the entire NBA. Things will get harder as the season progresses, especially if Davis needs to miss time. For now, though, the Lakers should just be thankful that he seems to have escaped with only a minor injury.
