Should Lakers still line up Thomas Bryant once Davis returns from injury?

The Lakers are on a roll lately, having won their last 5 games in a row and already a lot of talk on how the team is finally building a playing ‘culture’ for this season. What’s amazing about this, is the way players such as Thomas Bryant have stepped up for the team when they were needed the most. 

The Los Angeles side that began the tournament and the squad now playing this 2023 are two completely different teams. They went into the New Year’s standing in 13th place of the Western Conference with a 14-21 record. Even though now they are only in the 12th spot, in just two weeks their record improved to 19-22 and are only 3.5 games back of being a top-four seed in the West. Check out this week’s article where we explain how the Lakers are the current best in-form team at the moment.

Anthony Davis has been out of action now for just under a month (13 games in total) and things have been going better than expected. The 29 years old was playing in beast mode and the team had built such a dependancy around him that it seemed unthinkable to survive without LA’s big man. Before his injury, Davis played in 25 games, and averaged per game 33.4 minutes, 27.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists.

Thomas Bryant, on the other hand, had no choice but to step up and fill his shoes. The 25 year old center, used to coming off the bench, has already played more games (27) than Davis, but only averages 22.1 minutes per match. His stats are rapidly improving, but for now stand at an average 13 points, 7.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.

Just in his last show for the Lakers, he scored 29 points and won 14 rebounds! You can see his highlights in the youTube link below:

Yes, Anthony Davis’ individual stats might be better, but sometimes different squad combinations are just the right formulas that can bring new dynamics and pace in basketball. If we check game stats, the Lakers are 8-7 without Davis and 11-14 with him. Although this doesn’t mean the All-Star center is at fault, we can’t help but wonder.

Probably the most exciting Los Angeles game of the season was the first of the year, as they took on Miami without Davis and LeBron James. To everyone’s surprise they beat the Heat (112-103) with a remarkable team effort, including Dennis Schröder’s 32 points.

Return date?

According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the six-foot ten giant is ramping up rehab and already eyeing his return to action. In his report, he expresses how the player hopes to be back for the Lakers 4-game homestand starting tonight. That means, Davis could be back next week!

Although AD’s return couldn’t come at a better time for Los Angeles, it’s impossible not to pose the question wether he should be a straight starter or gradually accumulate minutes before being in the first five list. Lakers’ next game is tonight against the Dallas Mavericks at 7:00pm PST at the Crypto.com Arena in California.