Anthony Davis to undergo MRI on Sunday, initial exams show no ligament damage

Anthony Davis is going to be okay — or at least that’s the belief right now. After the Lakers forward exited Saturday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets with a thumb injury, he underwent initial exams that showed no ligament damage to his right thumb, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Davis will be re-evaluated on Sunday, but the team is diagnosing it as a Grade 1 thumb sprain for now, according to Charania.

Grade 1 sprains are on the mild end of the spectrum and if Davis wanted to, he could probably play through it like he did for a few minutes on Saturday. However, given the Lakers’ history with injuries over the last few years — and Davis’ own history with small injuries like this one — the team will likely play it safe with Davis and have him fully recover.

Assuming they go that route, Davis could be sideline for one to two weeks. While a one-week recovery period would have Davis back in time to take on the LA Clippers in the Lakers’ regular season opener, two weeks would have him miss the team’s first two regular season games. With Jared Dudley and Kyle Kuzma already sidelined, the Lakers are surely hoping it’s closer to one week.

If Davis, Kuzma and Dudley are all unavailable for the Lakers’ regular season opener on Oct. 22, head coach Frank Vogel might be forced to roll out the three-guard lineup he played on Saturday with LeBron James and JaVale McGee at the 4 and 5. Vogel could also opt to start a supersized front court with McGee and Howard.

For the sake of the Lakers and the fans that paid $300 re-sale just to get in the door on opening night, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

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