Ronald Harrod Jr
2 min read • April 10, 2023
Posted in
The Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis played in his second back-to-back of the season on Wednesday. The Los Angeles Clippers still beat the Lakers, and Davis only played 32 minutes. Davis has battled a foot injury all season that is expected to linger, but he should be fine down the stretch for the Lakers.
Davis’ partner in crime, Lebron James, has played in six games since tearing a tendon in his right foot on Feb. 26. James has shown the ability to be still dominant, but age and the foot injury could hamper his playoff excellence.
He will likely be limited the 32 minutes per game, as was the plan down the stretch in the regular season.
The Lakers traded for D’Angelo Russell, Mo Bamba, and some other players at the NBA’s trade deadline. Russell has battled a left foot and hip injury since joining the Lakers, but there’s been no indication that this will keep him from performing in the playoffs. Bamba was made probable for the first time since March. He did not see game action but seemed to be ready to return.
Prior to Sunday, Minnesota was surging and had it's two key stars healthy at the right time.
Now, they face a matchup with the Lakers down Rudy Gobert (suspension), Jaden McDaniels (broken right hand) and Naz Reid (broken left wrist.)
McDaniels may be the biggest loss of the bunch given his ability to score and defend on the perimeter. The Pro Basketball Docs do not expect him back at any point in the playoffs.
On the bright side, Karl-Anthony Towns appears to be back to his pre-injury form. The big man has shot 47.4% from the 3-point range since returning from a four-month absence due to a Grade 3 right calf strain– a complete muscle tear. He hasn’t played in back-to-back’s but has logged 30+ minutes in 4 out of the last 6 games.
Heat veteran point guard Kyle Lowry has been dealing with a knee injury that caused him to miss 15 games this season. Lowry hasn’t played 30+ minutes since early March and is listed as questionable for this play-in contest.
The Pro Basketball Docs expect him to suit up, but his minutes may be limited.
Sharpshooter Max Strus is listed as probable with a right second finger hyperextension, but the injury shouldn't affect his shooting ability or minutes.
Superstar center Bam Adebayo has played the second most games (73) for the Heat this season. But Adebayo is battling a left quadricep tendon strain. The injury is not expected to affect Adebayo seriously.
Rookie forward Nikola Jovic is listed as out with back spasms. The first-year forward doesn’t play a huge role for the Heat, only averaging 5.5 points.
Hawks starting wing De’Andre Hunter has played in 65 games this season, but he’s missed the team’s last five games with a bone bruise and muscle strain in his left knee. Hunter has been reportedly getting closer to a return to the starting lineup.
Bogdan Bogdanovic signed a four-year $68 million extension with the Hawks in March. Since signing the contract, he’s played in every game for the Hawks, but was out for load management on Thursday against the Sixers.
Both are off the injury report and ready to go for the Eastern play-in contest.
Written by Ronald Harrod Jr
