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The Los Angeles Lakers are listing Anthony Davis as questionable to play against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, head coach Frank Vogel announced after practice on Tuesday. Davis has missed the last three games with the gluteus maximus contusion he suffered against the New York Knicks last week.
Before these last three games, the Lakers were 1-1 when Davis didn’t play, with their lone loss coming against the Indiana Pacers on the tail end of a five-game road trip. Now, they’re 4-1 without Davis, which led to Vogel almost joking about the team not needing their superstar forward back:
Here's the full quote: "This is L.A. You know everything I say will be quoted out of context. So I was gonna make a joke, but I’m not gonna joke because we definitely need Anthony Davis. But we are undefeated this week without him."
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) January 14, 2020
Vogel isn’t the only one that’s anxious for Davis to back. Jared Dudley, who’s been the first power forward off the bench since Davis’ injury, sent Davis an informal “Get well soon” card via Twitter:
I’m excited for his ass to get back! https://t.co/DyT1l1n437
— Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) January 14, 2020
In the last three games, Dudley has averaged 15.5 minutes per game. In the three previous games, he averaged 4.3 minutes per game, including two DNP-CDs. From the sounds of it, Dudley doesn’t mind having front row seats to the best show in basketball.
Unfortunately for Dudz, he may have to wait a little longer until he’s back to keeping the bench warm for his teammates.
According to Vogel, Davis hasn’t done any sprint or contact work yet, which he’d need to do before making his return. So, even though Davis is listed as questionable, it’s unlikely that he’ll suit up against the Magic. Assuming that’s the case, Kyle Kuzma will likely resume his role in the starting lineup, unless of course Vogel chooses to get back at Dudley for this comment.
That would be so, so funny.
The one player that definitely won’t be taking the court on Wednesday is Rajon Rondo. Rondo suffered a finger fracture against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday and is expected to miss at least the next three days, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Rondo has missed 13 games total so far this season.
The Lakers struggled without Rondo’s playmaking in the second unit at the start of Monday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they were able to hide their shortcomings by pairing Alex Caruso with the team’s other ball-handlers. Expect Caruso to get the lion’s share of the backup point guard minutes again, with Cook filling out the rest.
The injury report will be updated before tip-off at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
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