Anthony Davis has joined LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers‘ injury report in advance of Friday’s nationally televised game against the Boston Celtics. Davis is officially listed as probable because of a right thigh contusion.
During the Lakers’ 109-102 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, the team announced that Davis had taken a knee to his right hip, but it would not stop him from returning to the game. Davis told reporters postgame that it was Giannis Antetokounmpo’s knee, and it happened when Davis dunked in transition, with Antetokounmpo contesting from behind. At the time, Davis was visibly upset that Antetokounmpo was not called for a foul, and he said later that “we’re not getting our foul calls — I think the one on the break, I think Giannis clearly fouled me.”
As previously noted, it is possible that James could make his return in Boston. He has played in just six of Los Angeles’ 16 games this season, and an abdominal strain — or, as it appears on the injury report, a rectus abdominis strain — has kept him on the shelf since its 119-117 win against the lowly Houston Rockets on Nov. 2. On Wednesday, James told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that he hopes to play against the Celtics, and ESPN reported that there is a 50-50 chance that he will. Officially, however, he is listed as a game-time decision.
The severely banged-up Lakers are 8-8, with an offense that ranks 24th (104.4 points per 100 possessions), a defense that ranks 15th (107.2 per 100) and a net rating that ranks 23rd in the NBA. As Davis said Wednesday, though, they “put a team together, and we haven’t seen it yet.”
