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Anthony Davis to sit out against Rockets, leaving Lakers shorthanded

NEW ORLEANS — Anthony Davis looks even tougher to replace after a night when he scored 35 points and grabbed 17 rebounds.

But it’s a challenge the Lakers will face Wednesday night in Houston, with their 30-year-old star big man still not cleared to play back-to-backs this season.

Davis will miss the second game of the two-game trip against the last-place Rockets, leaving the Lakers (34-35) with Wenyen Gabriel as their only healthy center for the matchup. While Houston plays smaller lineups, it could be a challenge: The Rockets (16-52) are coming off a victory over the vaunted Boston Celtics (47-22), a fact multiple Lakers mentioned looking ahead.

But while Davis has not felt pain in his right foot, he still has a stress reaction. With one wrong move – or by overstraining his foot – the reaction could morph into something that could sideline him for the rest of the season, which is why the Lakers have started terming it “an active injury.”

The decision to not play back-to-backs was made months ago by medical staffers. A person with knowledge of the injury told Southern California News Group that Davis had another consultation after missing a back-to-back game in Oklahoma City where he was told it wouldn’t be a good idea to play on consecutive nights. Davis is frustrated by the prospect of missing games with the team in a tight standings race that makes every game feel critical, but he acknowledged the long-term wisdom of the approach.

“Even though I’m not feeling pain and everything, it’s still an active injury; it’s still a stress reaction,” he said. “And we’re doing all the right things to make sure that I’m ready to go and I still need that day break. Obviously, it sucks. Good thing we got D-Lo (Russell) back and our guys, I think, are more than capable to go out and win a basketball game.”

The Lakers have been shorthanded in the frontcourt without All-Star forward LeBron James and backup center Mo Bamba, who is expected to miss several more weeks with a sprained ankle. They have an open roster spot and have evaluated several veteran big men this season, but they haven’t signed anyone to a short-term deal.

In the interim, Coach Darvin Ham said it’s possible the Lakers could throw out small lineups with Rui Hachimura or Jarred Vanderbilt at center.

JAMES PROGRESSES TO SHOOTING

Any step can feel like a good one when it comes to foot injuries. The latest for James: He’s back on the court shooting.

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James joined the team at Smoothie King Center for Tuesday morning shootaround. While the bulk of his work was lifting and doing rehab work with trainer Mike Mancias, James hit the court for the first time since his Feb. 26 right foot tendon injury, doing spot shooting from the free-throw line.

He’s not officially due for another medical evaluation until next week. Ham was happy to see James, who came out of his walking boot recently, lacing up his Nikes again and shooting, but he advised not to get too far ahead – though James added fuel to the fire with a suggestive Instagram post after shootaround.

“We won’t try to speculate or assume anything,” Ham said. “We’ll just let that take its course and hope for the best. But it was definitely encouraging to see him out there.”

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