OKLAHOMA CITY — Amid a cutthroat playoff chase, in a winnable game against a team jockeying alongside them in the Western Conference standings, the Lakers decided to sit star big man Anthony Davis for precautionary reasons.
It was a potentially high-stakes decision that went squarely against what Coach Darvin Ham said less than a week before: “Barring any type of injury, I don’t see anybody being out of the lineup.” But now with All-Star LeBron James set to miss several weeks with a foot injury, the Lakers are proceeding with caution – even if it costs them in their chase for a playoff berth.
Ham’s tone Wednesday night before tip-off against the Oklahoma City Thunder was dramatically different from the all-in-to-win tack the Lakers had adopted since the trade deadline. He said the decision was made in a meeting with the coaching staff and medical staff, referencing a strategy crafted when Davis was first hurt.
Several team members said they learned about it when the team tweeted out Davis’ availability on Wednesday morning, and if Davis had his druthers, a person familiar with his thinking told SCNG, he would have played through.
“We’re trying to win all of these games,” Ham said before the Lakers earned a 123-117 win. “But as I mentioned the other night in regards to LeBron, due to the circumstance we don’t want the circumstances of winning or losing games to dictate how we handle our players’ health.”
The decision was made on Wednesday, when the Lakers were hovering in 12th place, just a half-game ahead of the Thunder, who beat them in February, spoiling a record-breaking night from James. As of Wednesday morning, the Lakers were three games out of a guaranteed playoff position (top six), and a game out of the 10th seed – the last of the four play-in spots. The Lakers were also without D’Angelo Russell, who missed his third straight game with a right ankle sprain.
Davis played 35 minutes in Tuesday night’s loss in Memphis,…
Read the full article here
