On Thursday, Frank Vogel declared that Anthony Davis had been cleared for full on-court activity subsequent to being confined for about two months. From that point forward, Davis still can’t seem to make his on-court return for the Los Angeles Lakers, yet that could change very soon.
Before the Lakers’ game against the Utah Jazz on Monday — a game David has effectively been administered out of — Vogel said that Davis was gaining acceptable headway towards a return against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.
“He got some good work in today,” Vogel said. “He got some good work in after our team meeting this morning, and he’s going to continue to build up over the next two days and see how he’s feeling going into that Dallas game.”
Vogel originally referenced the Mavericks game as a potential return date for Davis on Thursday, and it appears to be that is as yet the tentative plan. Davis might have presumably played on Monday and been fine, however Vogel is working with the Lakers training staff to guarantee that when Davis gets back to the court, he’s prepared to contribute.
“The biggest thing is conditioning right now,” Vogel said. “He’s healthy, but having not played and not really been able to ramp up his physical, on-court activity over the last two months, it’s going to take some time before he gets his wind under him, and obviously that’s the biggest thing. Because if his legs aren’t under him, then we don’t want him to be at risk for a re-aggravation of the injury or another injury, so we’re going to keep a close eye on that.
“Beyond that, it’s the rhythm and timing piece, so there is going to be some rust. We understand that going in, and that’s some of the stuff we’re working on this week.”
Davis’ street to recuperation has been long, he’ll actually have a little approaches in any event, when he’s given the OK to play, yet Davis and the Lakers believe that their understanding will be remunerated.
“My sense is that (his patience has) been right where it should be,” Vogel said. “Big-picture mindset, wants to be out there for his teammates, misses being out there, but understands the value in really handling this injury the right way.
“He’s eager to get back out, but he wants to do it the right way.”