Anthony Davis, Lakers trying to be careful with his Achilles

Anthony Davis has missed the last two games for the Lakers, but the pain in the back of his leg that left him sore whenever he put weight on it started a few weeks before that. The Lakers later diagnosed Davis with right Achilles tendinosis, and while Davis normally likes to try and play through his injuries, the placement of this one has left him unusually cautious.

“I think this is just a different circumstance with it being the Achilles. If it was a quad or finger or anything like that, I wouldn’t mind playing, but you just don’t really want to play around with an Achilles,” Davis said.

Lakers fans are more than aware of the reasons why a star shouldn’t overtax their body when they’re dealing with Achilles pain, and so is the organization. That’s why they’re also trying to get Davis to take it slow, only just clearing him for a light, non-contact practice on Thursday. Davis was able to also complete a little bit of casual scrimmaging after the session was over, but the team is still in wait-and-see mode about when he’ll return to the lineup.

“He’s going to see how he feels with it today, but more importantly how it responds overnight and see how he feels tomorrow before making any decisions on the game,” said Lakers head coach Frank Vogel.

Davis said “I feel good right now” when queried about his level of discomfort after practice, but as Vogel pointed out, the team is going to see how he feels on Friday before their game against the Memphis Grizzlies. If he’s not at 100% by then, however, expect him to sit out again. He has bigger goals than regular season games.

“I just don’t want to play a game where I still feel it and then get hurt and now I’m out for the playoffs or whatever,” Davis said. “Right now (it’s something) where you miss two games or three games early on in the season, or midseason, and be ready to go for the rest of the season. So it’s something that I can control.”

He and the Lakers want to make sure they keep it that way.

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.