Anthony Davis sparkles in Philadelphia but Lakers supporting cast provides no assistance

Anthony Davis returned to form in his second game back from injury, finishing with 31 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in 34 minutes, but if the Lakers want to capitalize on their strong play, they’ll need help from other sources as well. .

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Davis returned two nights ago in a win over the Nets in Brooklyn after missing 17 games with a sprained ACL in his left knee. Starting at center, his return was a welcome sight for Lakers fans who have seen their baseball club hover around the .500 mark for most of the season.

Davis hadn’t played since Dec. 17, and in his absence, the Lakers went 7-10. Lakers coach Frank Vogel indicated that Davis would have a minutes restriction, but did not elaborate on what the limit would be.

Against Philadelphia, however, Davis saw his minutes increase, and his productivity blossomed as a result. He was influential at both ends of the floor in his 34 minutes on the floor. Despite their efforts, the Lakers looked lethargic leading a straight game.

“I think he played very well, it was great to see him pick up the pace.” Voge saidme “Anthony played a great game on both sides of the ball.”

Given that the Lakers have played such long stretches without all of their Big Three being healthy at the same time this season, and will now be without LeBron James for an undetermined amount of time, the team will need the rest of their roster to step up.

MORE: LeBron James injury update

Vogel suggested that he hoped guys like Russell Westbrook would up their game during the other stars’ absences.

“I think we all hoped we would have been better,” he said. “I think that’s one of the reasons we went out looking for Russ to handle one of those guys better than he did last year. So 7-10 is something we wish we had done better at.”

Against Philadelphia, Westbrook had 20 points and four rebounds, but the Lakers’ other role players struggled to make much of an impact: Malik Monk was 3-for-13, Stanley Johnson 1-for-6, Avery Bradley just 1-for-4 and the entire bench. just 8 of 29 (27.6 percent) combined.

Los Angeles is 2-2 on its six-game Grammy road trip with another game in Charlotte on Friday, before closing the trip with a game in Atlanta on Sunday.

The Lakers know that a dominant Anthony Davis puts them in a better position to win games, but to move up the West standings, they’ll need more from the rest of the team.

Next schedule of the Lakers 2023-22