Anthony Davis will not play in Lakers’ tilt with Mavericks on Friday
DALLAS — The Lakers announced that forward Anthony Davis’ bruised backside will keep him out of Friday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.
Davis, who traveled with the Lakers here Thursday, sustained the injury against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night at Staples Center.
He has previously missed two games this season,, one with a shoulder injury against the Golden State Warriors and one with an ankle injury against the Indiana Pacers.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel had said after practice Thursday that Kyle Kuzma would start at forward if Davis didn’t play.
This will be Kuzma‘s second start this season.
Anthony Davis will travel with the team to Dallas and Oklahoma City. He is questionable for Friday’s game with a bruised buttocks.
“I’m not Anthony Davis, so I’m just going to be myself,” Kuzma said after Tuesday night’s win over the Knicks when he was asked about how his role might increase with Davis out.
It’s not known if Davis will play when the Lakers play a back-to-back game at Oklahoma City on Saturday night.
The Lakers return home to play the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night at Staples Center.
It has become clear that the Lakers want to be cautious with Davis, who is averaging 27.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game this season.
“We want guys playing through pain when they need to, but we don’t want guys compromising themselves or putting themselves at risk by playing through injury,” Vogel said after practice Thursday. “That’s sort of what we feel is the difference, that this is a significant injury that we want to make sure we’re being cautious about. But he’s made pretty good progress from the time of the injury.”
The Lakers didn’t have an update on whether LeBron James, who was limited at practice Thursday with flulike symptoms, or Avery Bradley, who left practice early because of an illness before joining his teammates on their flight to Dallas, would play against the Mavericks.
Instead of trading struggling forward Kyle Kuzma, the Lakers need to be patient because he’s a good third option on a LeBron James-led team.
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