Is Anthony Davis playing today against Golden State Warriors? Latest injury update from Lakers (October 7th)
The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors play in a preseason game with Anthony Davis among the league superstars cleared to play. The game is set for October 7, 2023, at 8:30 P.M. ET and will go down at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
The two teams face off after battling it out in the Western Conference semi-finals last season, where the Lakers topped the Warriors 4-2, to advance to the Conference finals.
Davis, fresh from signing a lucrative three-year, $186-million max extension this offseason, is set to lead the Lakers’ attack in the preseason matchup with the Warriors, with the team not having the services of LeBron James and Austin Reaves for the game.
The 30-year-old All-Star forward produced double-double numbers of 25.9 points and 12.5 rebounds last season. He also averaged two blocks and 1.1 steals in 56 games. In the playoffs, he posted norms of 22.6 points, 14.1 rebounds, 3.1 blocks and 1.4 steals as the Lakers reached the Western Conference finals.
The Warriors game at hand is the first game of six preseason matches for the Lakers. After that, Los Angeles plays the Brooklyn Nets on October 10, the Sacramento Kings on October 12, the Warriors again on October 14, and the Milwaukee Bucks on October 16.
The Hollywood side will then play the Phoenix Suns, which now boast of a new big three in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal and has former Lakers coach Frank Vogel at the helm, in their final preseason game on October 20.
The LA Lakers begin their regular season campaign on October 25 against Nikola Jokic and the reigning NBA champions Denver Nuggets.
Anthony Davis expects to play more at the power forward spot this season
Davis expects to play more of the power forward spot this season, which he originally envisioned when he chose to join the team from the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019.
According to ESPN’s NBA reporter Dave McMenamin, it was one of the demands of the former Kentucky standout when he chose to sign an extension to stay with the Lakers this offseason.
McMenamin said:
“Ever since he joined the Lakers, Anthony Davis said he does not like playing the five that much and like playing a lot of minutes at the four… Last season [according to available data] he played 99% of his minutes at the five.”
He added:
“He made it known with the Lakers brass that he wanted to be part of the organization moving forward … ‘But give me some help at the five.’”
The Lakers have since shored up their center spot, getting Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood from free agency to be part of their rotation.