Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis will be out at least four weeks after a mid-foot sprain. Davis suffered the injury in the Lakers’ 106-101 win over Utah. The power forward was hurt when he jumped to catch a lob pass from Malik Monk and came down on Rudy Gobert’s heel, causing his ankle to bend outward.
The Lakers enter the All-Star break 27-31 and are currently ninth in the Western Conference. However, with Davis likely sidelined for at least a month, LA has an uphill battle if they want to make the playoffs. LeBron James will do what he always does to try to carry the Lakers, but other players will also need to step up.
Russell Westbrook
Westbrook averages 18.3 points per game on 43% shooting from the field and 29% from three-point land. But he turns the ball over a lot and has struggled to find his place in the Lakers’ offense. Now that Davis is out, Westbrook needs to step up. Westbrook has to cut down on the turnovers and use better shot selection. The point guard isn’t known for his outside shooting prowess, so he needs to continue to be aggressive and drive the ball to the basket.
Against the Golden State Warriors last Saturday, Westbrook shot 7 for 13 from the field and only took three outside shots. If he can continue to attack the paint like that, LA will find themselves in their fair share of winnable contests. Russ also needs to step up his defense in AD’s absence. By virtually every metric, he’s currently one of the Lakers’ worst defenders this season. For a guy who just oozes athleticism, he should be playing at least somewhat competent defense based on hustle alone. Westbrook played well in the last two games before the All-Star break; hopefully, he can continue to string together more of these down the stretch.
Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard will be leaned on to provide shot-blocking and rebounding with Davis out. So far this season, he’s averaging 5.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. It will be up to Howard to anchor the Lakers’ defense and grab offensive boards so that the Lakers can get second-chance shots. With a boat load of minutes in their rotation now available, Howard is in line for a more prominent role in LA over the next few weeks.
Talen Horton-Tucker
Talen Horton-Tucker played well enough last season that fans and management alike had high expectations for him this year. So far, Horton-Tucker has been up and down. He averages 9.5 points per game on 41% shooting from the field, and has shown flashes of brilliance in a largely uneven season to date.
Horton-Tucker can do many things; he can handle the ball and get to the basket, utilizing his wingspan to finish at the rim easily. The third-year player will be counted on to take some of the scoring pressure off Westbrook and James while Davis rehabs his foot.
Carmelo Anthony
Anthony is having a good season for the Lakers, averaging 13.4 points per game and shooting 39% from three-point land. However, Anthony has been out the last few games himself due to injury. If the Lakers are going to put together any kind of late season push, Melo needs to get healthy because he will be counted on to help replace Davis’s points.
When a player like Davis goes out, everybody has to step up. You can’t simply replace a player like AD’s production with a single body, it needs to be done by committee. If the Lakers want to make the playoffs, it’ll take a communal effort from every player on the roster. Perhaps even Austin Reeves figures to have a larger role in the coming month as he’s played well, hitting some big shots in clutch moments of late. It will be interesting to see how the second half of the season plays out for a Lakers squad that’s fighting for its playoff life at the moment.
-LaMarr Fields
Twitter: @raiderway83