Anthony Davis out vs. Spurs with calf contusion

The Los Angeles Lakers will enter their third matchup in the last four games against the San Antonio Spurs without their superstar center, as head coach Darvin Ham announced pregame that Anthony Davis would sit out of Saturday night’s contest with a left calf contusion he sustained on Friday.

Ham added that LeBron James, as expected, would suit up in San Antonio.

This is just the second full game Davis has missed this year. He had been on a tear prior to this injury, averaging 26.3 points, 12.8 rebounds and swatting 2.2 shots per game while shooting 57% from the field over the 16 contests he’s played in. As Ham noted, hopefully this is just a small setback and Davis can resume his prior level of play when he does get back in the lineup.

With Davis out, expect a lot more playing time for Wenyen Gabriel and Thomas Bryant at the 5, with LeBron James potentially seeing some minutes there as well, and the recently mothballed Damian Jones probably also getting back into the rotation.

Shortly before the game, the Lakers announced that Bryant would start in Davis’ place:

Additionally, Juan Toscano-Anderson may find his way back onto the floor at the 4 after nearly getting a DNP-CD in his return to the lineup on Friday night.

Davis has absolutely feasted inside in the prior two matchups with the Spurs, but this should still be a winnable game even without him, and the Lakers getting a W and some time for him to rest would both be huge as the team finishes up this lighter stretch of the schedule before a harsh, cold and brutal December slate. And if they can’t beat arguably the worst team in the NBA even without Davis, that would be another sign for concern about this group that has mostly provided us with optimism recently.

This breaking news story may be updated with more information as it develops. 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.