Getty Lakers star Anthony Davis
It was poor timing, no doubt, for the Lakers’ Anthony Davis to suffer an eye injury and subsequent illness in the regular season’s final week, with the Lakers fighting to stay out of the lowest playoff seeding.
Still, Davis was positive.
“I think we’re in a great place,” Davis said in an April 12 video posted on X by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I mean, the two games that we lost, I played a quarter. And then LeBron didn’t play one. So there’s nothing we can really do about that now. Our job is to focus on these next two, the game tonight and then on Sunday against New Orleans. And then just kind of see what happens, where we stand after that and then go win basketball games.
Davis took a pop in the eye against the Timberwolves on April 7 in the first quarter, and left the game with the Lakers leading by four points — a game they went on to lose by 10. Davis was sick for the next game against the Warriors, who shot 58.8% against the Lakers and handed LA its second straight loss.
That put the Lakers firmly in possession of the Western Conference’s No. 10 seed — the “death seed,” according to Bill Plaschke of the LA Times — a spot that would require them to win two road games just to earn the No. 8 spot in the playoffs.
“If the Lakers finish [at No. 10], they’re probably finished,” Plaschke wrote on April 10.
If there is good news, it is that Davis intended to play on April 12 against the Grizzlies, a game the Lakers should win to set up a finale in New Orleans two days later. “Davis is listed as probable for the Grizzlies game but plans to play, sources told ESPN,” McMenamin wrote.
Anthony Davis: ‘We Just Gotta Win’
While things do, certainly, look grim for the Lakers, Davis refused to concede any negativity. The Lakers had won nine out of 10 games (a span that included a six-game road trip) before their two-game Davis-free skid, and their star big man says they can get right back to doing that again.
After all, against the Timberwolves, not only did Davis go down, but LeBron James as not playing at all.
Anthony Davis says he feels much better after missing Tuesday’s game and believes the Lakers are in a “great place” heading into the final two games of the regular season
“I mean, at the end of the day, no matter where you are in the standings, you still have to win,” Davis said. “For us, it’s about taking it one game at a time. Whether that’s 10th place, ninth place, eighth, no matter where you are. You can be the first seed, you still have to win basketball games.
“So that’s our mindset. No matter where we are, we just gotta win.”
Lakers Need Help This Weekend to Avoid Play-In
Heading into the April 12 game, the Lakers are tied with the Kings and Warriors at 45-35, and while they play two road games to close out the season, Sacramento and Golden State will be at home. The Lakers are at a disadvantage because they do not hold any tiebreakers against the Kings or Warriors, meaning they would need to pick up a full game on both teams to secure the No. 8 spot.
It is possible, but it will be made more difficult by the fact that the Warriors close with a softie at home (the Jazz) and the Kings have Portland at home in their finale.
The Warriors host the Pelicans and the Kings have the Suns in what will be pivotal games on Friday night.