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LOS ANGELES — In the third quarter on Sunday night, before the Lakers ultimately saw their issues with transition defense result in a loss to the Toronto Raptors, something ultimately more worrying than their seven-game winning streak coming to an end may have taken place immediately following Anthony Davis blocking his third shot of the game.
It was a quick moment, but right after swatting Terence Davis’ layup attempt, Davis could be seen grimacing and grabbing the same shoulder he injured on a missed dunk attempt a couple of weeks ago, the same shoulder that’s required him to wear a compression shirt under his jersey and apply a heat pack when on the bench.
But after the game, Davis said that moment of obvious pain was much less significant than one might think, as discomfort in his shoulder while he’s playing is apparently nothing new.
“There’s really never a play I don’t feel it, but if I’m gonna go out there and play, I try to not let it affect my game. I just play through it, and then worry about taking care of it after the game,” Davis said.
Here is video of the moment Anthony Davis appeared to grimace while grabbing his shoulder after blocking Terence Davis. https://t.co/7dlIunYzd7 pic.twitter.com/L9KYvRGk5a
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) November 11, 2019
As anyone who has ever injured their shoulder can speak to, outstretching an arm — like, say, to block a shot — can cause pain in it, but Davis evidently does not want to sit out. Head coach Frank Vogel says he and the Lakers’ medical staff so far haven’t found a reason to force him to.
“He’s been fine with the shoulder. Obviously we saw that play. The medical team didn’t feel like he needed to come out,” Vogel said. “I haven’t gotten any update further than that, so we’ll let you know tomorrow.”
The night Davis hurt his shoulder (Oct. 27), he initially denied there was anything wrong with it despite some reporting to the contrary. That report was later proven correct when Davis was a game-time decision for the following game (Oct. 29) with what the Lakers have thus far only deemed “shoulder soreness.” When asked how much treatment he’s requiring to be able to get out on the court, Davis was just as nonspecific.
“Just enough to get it ready to play,” Davis said.
And despite the pain, Davis’ curt response made it seem as though he doesn’t plan to stop playing anytime soon.
All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.