AD's Long-Term Absence: A Test for the Lakers

When Anthony Davis started touching his Achilles and limping towards the locker room on Sunday (Monday Manila time), it looked like he took the life out of the Los Angeles Lakers with him.

Davis scored 15 points before being forced to leave the first half of what turned out to be a 122-105 loss for the Lakers at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. Not only did that loss snap a seven-game winning streak by the defending National Basketball Association (NBA) champions, but it also clouded the future of the Lakers now that they won't have number three for a long period of time. Possibly until the All-Star weekend this March.

As it turned out, Anthony Davis will be out for the next two to three weeks after being diagnosed with a calf strain. It is also said that the injury he sustained in the Nuggets game has aggravated an Achilles injury that has been bothering him in the past few weeks. 

Two to three weeks. That's a long time without Anthony Davis for the defending champions who are now standing in second place in the Western Conference with a 21-7 slate. They still have nine games left on their schedule for the first half of the 2020-2021 season with a game against the reloaded Brooklyn Nets, a Finals rematch against the Miami Heat, and another slugfest against the Golden State Warriors approaching. They are also set to face the streaking Utah Jazz next week.

Anthony Davis is averaging 22 points, eight rebounds, and a team-leading 1.8 blocks per game. He's shooting 53% from the field. 

With AD out for the next two to three weeks, the Lakers must now work together to find who will fill the void Davis will be leaving behind. 

Against Denver, Kyle Kuzma started the second half and finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. In the six games that he started for the Lakers this season, Kuzma is averaging 14 points and six rebounds while shooting 38% from the three-point line. The Lakers will also need more from Kentavious Cardwell-Pope who is struggling offensively as of late. In his past 10 games, KCP is only averaging five points on 28% shooting from three. And with AD out in the final stretch of the season's first half, Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell must provide more reinforcement to LeBron James' majestic numbers.   

The long-term absence of one Anthony Davis will test the Lakers' ability to compete against other elite teams in the NBA and it will also test LeBron James' leadership anew. If the Lakers can keep their spot near the top of the West standings until AD is healthy enough to play alongside LeBron, it's going to be a troublesome sign for the rest of the pack.  

Photo is from Fox Sports