Getty The Los Angeles Lakers big man says he has zero pain regarding his injury.
Anthony Davis wants to make one thing clear regarding his injury — there is zero pain right now.
The Los Angeles Lakers big man has been sidelined due to a sacral contusion just above his tailbone since last Tuesday night’s game against the New York Knicks. While the initial MRI results came back clean, Davis has missed the last three games — and there has been no official return date for the All-Star veteran.
However, there’s good news. That would be because the 26-year-old is making it very open that his injury is not serious and that he’s a lot closer to a return.
Anthony Davis: “I’m a lot closer than I was three days ago and I made some more progress today. When I feel like I’m able to get back to my old self and do the moves that I’ve always done and be successful at it, then that’s when I’ll be able to get back on the floor.”
Anthony Davis Says There’s ‘Zero’ Pain With Injury
He’s also stressing that there’s no pain and the only reason why he hasn’t returned yet is because the Lakers have been doing well in his absence. In fact, Los Angeles has gone 3-0 in Davis’ absence and have won their games by an average margin of 19.6 points per game.
Via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:
“Zero [pain] right now. It’s the movement that kind of gets me. But … I’m getting closer to getting back on the floor with these guys,” said Davis.
“The last three games, it looks like they don’t need me. So kind of taking it slower than usual,” said Davis.
While Davis hasn’t ruled out playing on Wednesday against the Orlando Magic, an immediate return would be a little bit of a surprise. That would be because Davis has yet to even sprint or have contact drills in love 5-on-5 practices since the injury.
Davis Thought The Injury Was A Lot More Serious
Davis, who has had a history of injuries to his lower back region, revealed that he thought the injury was a lot more serious than it actually was.
“It was very painful,” Davis said. “Hard for me to walk, obviously. It was pretty tough for me to just roll over on my back and on my side at the initial point of contact. It was tough. I didn’t want any speculation, but I was just praying that it wasn’t anything too serious.”
“Very relieving knowing that just based on how it felt, a day-to-day thing, [rather] than a fracture or anything like that where you need surgery and you’re out weeks or months or whatever,” Davis said. “I’m glad [that my return timeline is] just based on how I feel.”
Head coach Frank Vogel seemed to echo Davis’ sentiment — the Lakers are going to take their time with Davis’ injury. Considering it’s mid-January and the Lakers are facing the seventh-best team in the East in the Magic, there is no sense of urgency — and no point of risking further injury for their star player.
“We’re always going to be cautious with all of our players and take the marathon approach with injuries and return to play at the right pace,” Vogel said. “But he’s shown great toughness throughout this year.”
In his first season with the Lakers, Davis has proved to be a seamless fit with LeBron James. The six-time All-Star is averaging 27.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.
Davis will become a free agent this offseason, but the expectations are that he’ll return to the Lakers.