One of the main reasons that the Los Angeles Lakers fell short of a postseason berth last year was the multitude of injuries they suffered throughout the season. Most notably, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball were shut down for the end of the season while LeBron James missed about a month after his groin injury on Christmas. The team definitely can’t afford to miss LeBron James for that amount of time this year, while the same can be said for their new superstar, Anthony Davis.
Anthony Davis has definitely had a less than desirable injury history, although it hasn’t been terrible. He missed some games last year due to injury (although most of the missed games may have been due to his trade demands) and missed 21 of the New Orleans Pelicans’ games in the 2015-16 season. He did however play and start 75 games in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 season. Either way, Davis is doing everything he can this offseason to make sure he plays as much of the 82 game season as possible. He had this to say about his methods of doing so in an interview with Peter Flax/Red Bull:
“I’m trying to maximize my strength in these awkward positions. That way, when I’m in those positions with a lot of load or someone is pushing me, my body and my ligaments and tendons can handle it.”
Davis may have explained his training in a more simple way than it was explained when his trainers came up with it, but his thought process still makes sense. If Davis can push his body to withstand punishment in the offseason, it should be ready to go to withstand the punishment of an 82 game season.
Freak accidents may happen, but it’s very encouraging to hear that Davis is putting in efforts to maximize the number of times he’s on the court. The Lakers will definitely need him as much as possible.
