Why Anthony Davis not touching a basketball for two months might be a good thing (and why it’s not surprising)

Lakers big man Anthony Davis is coming off of a second straight injury-plagued season after two very unfortunate contact injuries. Against the Timberwolves in December, AD suffered a Grade 2 medial collateral ligament (MCL) tear, before suffering a midfoot sprain in February while facing the Jazz. And in an attempt to will his team into the Western Conference play-in tournament, AD returned from the midfoot injury still in noticeable discomfort and pain. Even with Davis back on the court, the Lakers were unable to earn that 83rd game and a chance to compete for a championship after the conclusion of the regular season.

Since his season ended in April, the information about Davis’ offseason training regime has been relatively sparse. However, this week, much to the chagrin of many Lakers fans, AD revealed that he hadn’t shot a basketball since April 5 on the Nuke Squad gaming YouTube channel.

Despite sending some of those who cover the team into a frenzy, Davis’ admission is no black mark against his offseason training. I explained why his hiatus from basketball activities isn’t a surprise, and what we should actually focus on when it comes to evaluating his readiness for the season:

Now if this lack of basketball activities continues deeper into the summer, then you’re potentially looking at a problem. However, as if to troll those caught up in questioning his willingness to practice his jump shot, AD posed for a post-on-court workout picture with internet-famous shooting coach Lethal Shooter just days after the claims of being basketball-free came out.

For now, all of this is much ado about nothing. Laker fans are obviously on tilt after a poor season, but this is your typical red herring situation that is being blown out of proportion.

Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT has a doctorate in physical therapy from Northern Arizona University, and runs his own in-person and online sports medicine and performance business, 3CB Performance, in West LA and Valencia, CA in which he further combines his movement expertise and fitness training. Prior to entering into the physiotherapy field, Brar graduated from Cal-Berkeley in Business Administration and spent multiple years in the corporate marketing and strategy field, culminating in managing his own business unit in New York City and being a direct liaison for client management. Brar is additionally training at UCLA’s mindful awareness research center (MARC), has a background in youth basketball coaching and analyzes the Lakers from a medical, skills, and leadership/organizational culture perspective for Silver Screen and Roll and on his own YouTube Channel. You can follow him on Twitter at @3cbPerformance.