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Update: Frank Vogel said after the Lakers practiced on Friday that Anthony Davis (and LeBron James) would both be ready to play against the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
Original story continues below.
When Anthony Davis crumpled to the ground in a heap as the Lakers were trying to close out Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets, one could almost hear the hearts of an entire fanbase stop. Davis had been rolling, but now that description only applied to his ankle, and he looked to be in serious pain.
Davis was thankfully able to shake off the injury and finish the game against the Denver Nuggets, with his play down the stretch — even while limping a bit at times — proving pivotal in the Lakers taking a 3-1 series lead over the Nuggets.
After the game, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said that the team would see how Davis’ ankle responded to treatment overnight before reevaluating him, but admitted that “there’s always concern with an injury like that” to a player on his roster.
“It was good for him to play through it, but we’ll see how he responds overnight,” Vogel said.
Davis was just thankful that the Lakers won’t play again until Saturday, giving him some time to get the ankle worked on and good enough to play. He’s not worried about it being an issue moving forward.
“(We’ve) got tonight, tomorrow, before the game to get it back to, I don’t want to say back to where it was, but good enough to play,” Davis said. “Rolled it pretty bad, but not too bad. I’ll be fine.”
Thankfully, our own Dr. Brar didn’t sound too worried about it while watching the replay, either:
There was no inversion or eversion when AD came down. From where he’s holding at and how he came down, he likely jammed the front of the ankle (anterior impingement). Painful but should be ok
— Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT (@3cbPerformance) September 25, 2020
The Lakers will try to close out the Nuggets on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Until then, their fanbase will wait with baited breath for the next update confirming that their young star is going to be all right.
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