The presence of Anthony Davis in the fifth game of the first round tie between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns is right now an unknown. The sources of the franchise consulted by the ESPN They are rather pessimistic on the participation of the star in a decisive encounter with the series tied 2-2.
Davis suffered a groin strain during the fourth match of the tie, an injury that forced him to withdraw from the meeting to rest with 6 points in 19 minutes of play.
“These guys are great competitors, and they will always want to ignore these things, so we’ll see.”, commented Frank vogel at the press conference prior to the meeting this next morning. “That is his mentality, playing like any other competitor, but we will see how he feels and we will make an intelligent decision”.
According to the prestigious journalist Adrian Wojnarowski, Davis will most likely be back in the LA lineup for Game 6 of the eliminatory, that is disputed on Thursday.
Markieff Morris, who has had 12 minutes of play in the last 10 games, tweeted that he sees a near “opportunity”. He could be the one to regain his presence in the rotation if it is confirmed that AD will not be able to collaborate with the reigning champions for now.
Vogel did explain at a press conference that he hopes to recover Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who missed the fourth game due to knee discomfort.
“Our identity without AD changes radically, but it is not unprecedented for us”, the technician valued the possibilities of his team. This year, the LA record when LeBron James played without Davis it was from 11 wins and 7 losses.
In the tie against Phoenix, AD’s presence has been vital for the Lakers: in the two victories he has averaged 34 points and 10.5 rebounds while in the two defeats his participation has remained at 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds.