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The Los Angeles Lakers got a measure of good news on Monday when they found out that Anthony Davis’ right thumb injury was just a sprain. Things are looking up even more so for the Lakers as Davis will be back in the lineup vs. Golden State, coach Frank Vogel told reporters today.
Anthony Davis will play tonight vs Golden State, Lakers coach Frank Vogel said
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) October 16, 2019
Davis said his injury felt fine during Tuesday’s practice as he went through the full session in hopes of being cleared to make his Staples Center preseason debut.
“I kinda knew (it wasn’t serious),” Davis said Tuesday. “I knew it was just a jam … it felt fine at practice today.”
Davis took some contact to the thumb a few times on Tuesday, which was what he wanted to have happen in order to tough it out. He said the plan is to see how he feels Wednesday and if he feels good, he will play.
Per Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, Vogel had the Lakers head outside to the turf across the field from the UCLA Health Training Center before practice Tuesday. While Davis went through some stretches, LeBron James and Rajon Rondo took turns tossing a football across the field.
View this post on InstagramHere’s a pass, then a catch, from @kingjames as the Lakers got a lil’ ☀️ to warm up for Tuesday’s practice. LeBron was a 1st Team All-State WR in high school, naturally.
A post shared by Mike Trudell (@miketrudell) on Oct 15, 2019 at 12:46pm PDT
Davis was injured during a preseason game in China on Saturday. The Lakers were cautiously confident the injury wasn’t serious, and the MRI confirmed it.
He didn’t play in the Lakers’ preseason game against Golden State at Staples Center on Monday night, but he took shots without protection on his thumb two hours before the game.
Swingman Kyle Kuzma went through some tests after the team returned from its China trip and, after a scan of his ankle (stress reaction), it was determined that Kuzma could do on-court non-contact activity.
“There’s still progression to be had,” Vogel said Tuesday. “He was very limited with what he did today, and it was all non-contact in limited duration. It’s going to take some time for him to get his legs under him and build up to the point where he’s playing live with contact, and then some time where we want to see him perform in that and respond well to that before we clear him to play.”
Kuzma will not play in the Lakers’ remaining preseason games as he works to gain progress before the regular-season opener vs. the LA Clippers on Oct. 22 (10:30 ET, TNT).
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Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
