Star player Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers ended with 22 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in the victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
Even though he stuffed the stat sheet, his biggest achievement was probably winning the game.
During the Lakers’ March 16 loss, big man Trayce Jackson-Davis of the Golden State Warriors poked Davis in the eye, causing a corneal abrasion. In the final moments of the first quarter, he left the game and did not return.
LeBron James, a teammate, emphasizes in his forceful comeback how much Davis influences their play.
Davis stated that he is still not clear of the forest regarding the eye.
“Yeah, just going to the eye doctors, figuring things out. That’s all I can tell y’all right now,” Davis told reporters from the locker following the win over Atlanta on March 18. “I’m not telling ya’ll something, for sure. … Just got to do a couple more things. But after those things, everything should be fine.”
With as many appearances as he has made since the 2017–18 campaign, Davis is likely on course to reach a new career high if the Lakers handle him well in the final stretch.
He described the intensity and mentioned that he hadn’t intended to wear anything protective.
Anthony Davis Is Not Going to Wear Safety Glasses
“No, I’ve been through that phase in high school,” Davis said about wearing goggles. “I’m out of that phase. I mean, obviously, if the doctors told me that I needed it. I asked that question, obviously, and I didn’t need it. They said if I wanted to, but I didn’t need it. So no, I wasn’t planning on wearing it.
“I just couldn’t see. The corneal abrasion was actually right in the middle of my eye. So it wasn’t like off to the side, so anytime I looked, it was just blurry. My eye was swollen. I thought my eye was open, but it wasn’t. Just kept watering, just felt like sand was just in my eye.
“It was just better closed, and I couldn’t really see. So just been icing it, Saturday after the first quarter, and just it got better later that night.”
According to Davis, the swelling subsided once he sat in the dark.
On gameday, he claimed to have had his eyes dilated and to have “found out some other things” after seeing the doctor. Following the Hawks victory, Davis claimed to be able to see clearly once more.
LeBron James Discusses the Lakers’ Effect from Anthony Davis
When he sits this season, they are 1-3. In addition, the Lakers are still fighting off challenges for ninth place in the Western Conference and a home game in the Play-In Tournament’s opening round from the Warriors and even the Houston Rockets.
“Obviously, some things that we can’t do without without AD,” James told reporters on March 16.
“That’s having another threat always on the floor, both offensively and defensively versus a team [the Warriors] that has multiple threats. So, obviously, when you lose AD it just hurts the balance of our team. We’ve been pretty good, our coaches have been pretty good at having a certain rotation, how we work in our rotation. So now that changes a lot of things.”
Davis made the decision to be available for the game. After the Hawks victory, he didn’t seem any worse for wear.
The Lakers, who have three days off until their next game, should benefit from that.
After their little vacation, they’ll host the Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers before leaving for a six-game road trip. Including their second matchup with the Pacers, only two of the games on that trip are against playoff clubs.