Early Saturday morning the Los Angeles Lakers lost 91-77 to the Brooklyn Nets in the second game between the two in China amidst controversy between the country and the NBA. The offense was obviously somewhat disappointing, with Frank Vogel’s defense still looking good. There wasn’t much to take from this game as LeBron James didn’t play in the second half, mostly because his running mate Anthony Davis wasn’t playing, leaving little point for LeBron to stay in if he wasn’t building chemistry with Davis.
The reason Davis wasn’t in was sadly because of an injury he sustained in the first half. That injury was a sprained right thumb, which will reportedly undergo testing tomorrow once the team returns to Los Angeles (they couldn’t X-Ray the thumb at the stadium because there’s apparently no X-Ray machine at the stadium in Shenzhen, China).
Anthony Davis will get his sprained right thumb tested tomorrow upon the team’s return to L.A.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 12, 2019
Although it’s not a serious injury, the sprained right thumb could definitely be an injury that lingers if Anthony Davis doesn’t let it heal back to 100%. Because of that, you have to wonder if Davis will play in the final three preseason games no matter what the results of the testing are tomorrow. Those three games will be on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of this week (all against the Warriors) before the Lakers face off against the Los Angeles Clippers the following week on Tuesday, October 22nd.
It would be nice for LeBron James and Davis to get more run together before opening the season against such a tough opponent in a Western Conference where almost every game matters, but health trumps potential chemistry when it comes to the preseason. The Lakers need AD at his max at all times and shouldn’t let three preseason games potentially jeopardize that.
Other Notes from the Game
Avery Bradley led the team with 14 points (6-for-13 from the field, 0-for-4 from three), but also had the worst +/- of the team at -19. The team joined Bradley and shot poorly from all areas of the field, shooting 33.7% from the field, 15.6% from three (yikes), and 63.2% from the free-throw line (12-for-19). The Lakers had a decent first quarter but ended up trailing 20-19 after it because of five missed layups.
After @ACFresh21 beat the 1st Q buzzer with a 3 from @KingJames, LAL trail 20-19. They missed 5 open layups (3 from LeBron, 1 from Davis and 1 from KCP) that were the difference in the scoreline.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 12, 2019
We’ll keep you updated on Davis’ thumb, with the Lakers suiting back up in the Staples Center for the first time this year on Monday, October 14th against the Golden State Warriors.
