This Anthony Davis news could ruin the Lakers season

The Los Angeles Lakers had found their footing lately. Embracing the center position and re-emerging as one of the NBA’s top players, Anthony Davis was at the forefront of why the team had gone 9-4 in its last 13 appearances, staying afloat in the Western Conference standings .

Davis turned the corner for the Lakers in a major way. After fully embracing the center position, he increased his averages to 27.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.1 blocks in 25 games this season. He resurfaced as one of the NBA’s best players, but that’s on hold for now.

Original coverage of Davis’s injury was that he was expected to be sidelined for about a month. However, there is one elevated sense that he could miss several months, ranging from two to three. The exact severity of the injury has yet to be determined, to be clear.

“The first priority is to take care of his health,” Davis said. “Hell with what people have to say. Just block that sound. We have a phenomenal medical staff. Really, really brilliant people within the organization who are going to make sure he gets the best medical care, and once we know what’s going on, we’ll act accordingly.

LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Anthony Davis & Los Angeles Lakers Updates

With the long term in mind, the Lakers want to avoid rushing Davis back into the lineup before he’s ready. There will be buzz from the outside about Davis’ injury history, but the focus will remain on what’s best for him, not what people say.

“The first priority is to take care of his health,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “To hell with what people have to say. … We have a phenomenal medical staff of really, really brilliant people within the organization making sure he gets the best possible care, and once we know what’s going on, we’ll act accordingly.

“The season is quite early and he just needs to take care of his business, first of all to come back healthy.”

It remains to be seen how well the Lakers manage to stay afloat while Davis is sidelined. LeBron James is in his 20th NBA season and expecting him to take on that burden with an untalented roster is asking for potential injury problems in and of itself. Russell Westbrook will be needed to continue stepping up, but the outlook for the rest of the roster looks bleak.

“Whoever is available to play, we have to play,” said James. “We are all NBA players and we have to go out and trust the game plan that the coaches put in there. We were able to do that for most of the game tonight.”

LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Anthony Davis & Los Angeles Lakers Updates

The Lakers have hesitated to part with far-future draft capital to strengthen the roster around Anthony Davis and LeBron James. With the team only 13-17 in 30 games, it doesn’t seem logical to push chips into the middle of the table to make such bold moves.