In concerning scenes for Lakers fans, Anthony Davis exited the game early against the Timberwolves on Sunday night after he re-aggravated an eye injury.
Davis was (accidentally) hit in the face by Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson late in the first quarter of the game at Crypto.com Arena.
Davis grabbed a rebound and went for a put-back dunk when Anderson hit his eye and to the big man’s credit, he completed the dunk but fell to the floor hard and was in pain afterwards.
The Lakers ruled out of Davis in the second half, so he finished the night with four points and four rebounds in 12 minutes.
“There is optimism that Anthony Davis will be able to return to the lineup on Tuesday against GSW, a source familiar with the situation told ESPN”, reporter Dave McMenamin reported on X after the game.
By getting hit in eye again, AD re-aggravated a corneal abrasion he suffered last month when Warriors rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis hit him in the face.
Davis’ eye was swollen shut that night and he told reporters “it felt like sand” was in his eye.
Despite the injury and missing time earlier this season with with hip and Achilles injuries, the big man has played in 73 out of 79 of the Lakers’ games in 2023-24.
He’s averaging 24.7 points, 12.8 rebounds (third-best average in the league), 3.5 assists and 2.4 blocks, while shooting 55.5 percent from the floor and 28 percent from deep.
With Davis exiting early and LeBron not playing due to flu-like symptoms, Minnesota were able to defeat LA 127-117.
After the Rockets loss on Sunday, the Lakers have clinched a postseason spot and have the chance to earn their way into the playoffs, rather than having to compete via the Play-In.
To do that, having both Davis and LeBron as healthy as possible will be crucial.
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