SAN ANTONIO — Just when the Lakers felt like they might be getting whole, another of their stars sat out Saturday night.
Anthony Davis missed the second of the back-to-back matchup against the San Antonio Spurs with a left calf bruise, an injury Coach Darvin Ham said he suffered from getting “kicked” during the second half of the Friday night victory. Ham gave the impression that Davis was being sidelined out of caution more than any discomfort.
“Just it being a back-to-back, the load he was carrying, specifically with (LeBron James) out, it’s just the smart and right thing to do,” Ham said. “We don’t want to push him this early in the season. And when you’re talking about different muscles and ligaments, it’s something that can easily turn into a year-long issue.”
The Lakers have good reason to play it safe with Davis: In his previous two seasons, Davis has played just 76 of 154 regular season games, suffering injuries to his Achilles tendon, his foot and his knee among other areas. Saturday’s game was the second he’s missed so far this season, missing a game earlier in the year with a lingering back injury.
But of late, Davis’ juice has been worth the squeeze: In his last five games, Davis is averaging 33.3 points, 17.6 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 2 steals and shooting 64.4% from the field. James called him “the best player in the league” during James’ own five-game absence, and the Lakers record (4-1 in that stretch) has benefited the most.
That level of production was another reason for the Lakers to play it safe, Ham said. The team has two upcoming home games against Indiana and Portland before embarking on a six-game road trip and a road-heavy month throughout December (12 of 16 away from home). Davis’ availability is paramount.
Thomas Bryant started in Davis’ place for his first start of the season. Ham said he hasn’t worried too much about wondering when (or possibly if) his team will ever all be healthy at the same time.
“I’m the type where until it gets to that point, I’m going to manage what I have to manage,” he said. “I’m not a guy that looks down the road. The daily work for me is we’ll be where we need to be and we’ll be healthy and whole when we get there. But we have to handle first what’s in front of us each particular day. So, I just roll with the punches.”
Back-to-blah
It felt a little like Groundhog’s Day in San Antonio: Saturday night saw the same two teams line up in the same building for the same tip-off time.
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was a little torn about the two-game-in-two-night series, which was also the third time in four games the Spurs and Lakers have met.
“I have two feelings: One, I dislike it immensely,” Popovich said. “But secondly, it does help travel, and I think that was one of the main motivations in putting the schedule together. And it’s hard to argue with.”
Back-to-back games in the same city are a relatively new phenomenon in the NBA, necessitated in part by COVID-19 travel restrictions. But once the league realized it could cut down on flight mileage, it became a fixture in the schedule rather than an exception.
Ham, who played and coached in Texas, said he was disappointed that the new policy would limit his days to get in a fix for Texas barbeque. Popovich said he disliked that the back-to-backs felt like a series without the stakes.
“I think it’s sort of a playoff atmosphere when you’re not really geared up for that,” he said. “Especially early in the season. It can be very lucky or unlucky based on who you draw or what your situation is. That’s maybe a little more theoretical. And the second point about rest and health is I think pretty solid, maybe more tangible.”