Darvin Ham gives update on Anthony Davis' back injury: "We were all a little nervous at that point in time... But he's fine"
Only four games into the season and Anthony Davis is already nursing a back injury. Davis appeared to aggravate his injury in the LA Lakers' 110-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. Lakers coach Darvin Ham provided an update on his star big man's injury.
In a postgame interview, Ham said that Davis will be fine despite hobbling in pain a few times against the Nuggets. The first-year Lakers coach also said that he was nervous like every Laker fan after seeing Davis wincing in pain after a dunk.
"He's fine, he’s fine," Ham said. "He wouldn't have been able to finish the game. Getting that shot in the back, we were all a little nervous at that point in time, but he was able to get through the game. And give us a lot of good production, but he's fine."
Anthony Davis played through the injury and finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks in 37 minutes. Davis has played great for the Lakers this season, but they are still winless after four games.
The one-time champ is averaging 24 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2.8 steals and 2.3 blocks. He's shooting 52.7% from the field, but an abysmal 18.2% from beyond the arc. Outside shooting has been a problem, not just for Davis, but for the entire Lakers team.
One of Davis' main goals at the start of the season was to play in all 82 regular-season games. He's not achieved that feat in his career, but has not missed a game this season. However, it will be hard to accomplish given his current injury and durability issues.
Anthony Davis, LA Lakers stay winless to start season
Anthony Davis and the LA Lakers are still winless following their 110-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. Davis had a good game, but aggravated his back injury. LeBron James struggled with his shot and taking care of the ball.
"The King" had 19 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, but shot just 8 for 21 from the field. James was only 2-for-8 from beyond the arc and had eight turnovers. The Lakers also continued their struggles with their outside shooting.
They were just 8-for-30 from the 3-point line against the Nuggets, which was their best shooting night this season. The Lakers are still the worst 3-point shooting team in the NBA. In the absence of Russell Westbrook, the Lakers proved that the former MVP is not just the problem.
Meanwhile, reigning two-time MVP Nikola Jokic had 31 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists and four steals. Bruce Brown scored 18 points in the absence of Michael Porter Jr. Jamal Murray added 13 points in 28 minutes of action.
The Lakers will face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday before a rematch with the Denver Nuggets in a special Sunday night game. The Lakers are finally retiring George Mikan's number. Mikan played seven seasons for the franchise back when they were in Minneapolis.