Anthony Davis injures left foot during Lakers’ newest defeat on the road

The Lakers perfect 3-0 start of the 2024-25 is already starting to seem like a distant past, as the purple and gold have now lost three of their last four outings. Their last disappointment came during Monday’s 115-103 to the Pistons, while their star Anthony Davis was examined after he re-injured his left foot during the fourth quarter.

Apparently, the Los Angeles big man had been struggling with pains in his ankle during the preseason. “I’ll talk to my trainer and just kind of figure out what exactly is going on,” Davis said after the game, in which he scored 37 to up his averages of 32.6 per contest this campaign so far.

“I’ve been managing it since this summer, honestly, and my goal for every game is to be on the floor,” AD told the press. “And I just kind of landed directly on the spot that’s been killing me. So, we’ll figure it out.”

"We'll go off what AD says & see how he feels over the next couple of days… It don't take a rocket scientist to know if AD's in or out. C'mon."

LeBron James on Anthony Davis possibly missing games after injuring his left foot in Lakers-Pistons.pic.twitter.com/onY4pqpH0F

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 5, 2024

To this moment, the Lakers center is yet to be ruled out of their next game in Memphis on Wednesday, which is their last match on this present road trip. Considering how Davis’ health has been managed in the past, this situation will probably need to be monitored day-to-day.

His co-star LeBron James, who ended the clash with 20 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds while playing a season-high 40 minutes, was asked in the locker room about what Davis’ potential absence could mean for the purple and gold. “I don’t know,” he said bluntly. “I’m going second by second.”

“I don’t play the ‘if’ game,” said the all-time NBA leading scorer on Monday. “We’ll go off what AD says and see how he feels over the next couple of days and go from there. But it don’t take a rocket scientist to know [the impact] if AD’s in or out. C’mon.”

Davis acknowledged the fact that the Lakers need to be consistent. “We’re just two different teams right now,” the big man explained. “One game, we’re this team who showcased it can be one of the better teams in the league. Then the next, we’re this team who — I don’t even know who we are. So, we just got to be better.”

NBA experts have been pointing out that LeBron James is one of the main reasons why the Lakers have been struggling early in the season

Every year, there seems to be a recurrent theme around the Los Angeles camp, a narrative that suggests that 39-year-old LeBron James is one of the main reasons why this team isn’t living up to their potential during this start of the season. One of them pursuing this is basketball podcast host Jason Timpf.

“LeBron hasn’t been good yet this season and on nights when the Lakers come out flat he’s usually a big part of the problem,” the Hoops Tonight reporter wrote on X. “He’s also the last person I’m worried about with this team in the big picture. He’s going to get his legs under him and be LeBron.”

Following their last defeat against Detroit, AD labeled all their last games against Toronto and Memphis as “must wins.” The All-Star center knows what it takes to contend for the NBA title, and winning on the road is a clear requisite.

“We’re all disappointed,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said when asked about his team’s performances after Monday’s clash against one of the worst clubs in the league. “We’re all disappointed.”