Lakers News: Anthony "Street Clothes" Davis Back In Street Clothes Tonight

AD will miss the Lakers' preseason finale.

Star Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis will not be suiting up alongside his L.A. compatriots tonight for the team's sixth, and last, preseason contest, against the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports that the 6'10" big man out of the University of Kentucky, who is apparently still dealing with the lower back soreness that had kept him out for two prior preseason contests of L.A.'s five thus far, will not be able to play tonight against the Kings.

When he has played thus far this year, the Brow has been pretty productive in limited time. 

Through his three healthy exhibition games, Davis is averaging 19.3 points on 52.6% shooting from the floor (and 40% shooting from long range on 3.3 attempts), 9.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, a steal and a block in just 21.4 minutes. Keep in mind, head coach Darvin Ham is playing his older, more established players sparingly, and using the preseason primarily to experiment with rotations and to explore fringe players at the end of the roster. 

Shooting guard Max Christie, selected with the No. 35 pick out of Michigan State University earlier this summer, has gotten some extra run this preseason. At present, L.A. has Shaquille Harrison, Jay Huff, and Nate Pierre-Louis inked to Exhibit 10 training camp deals. All three seem likely to wind up with the team's NBA G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, for most of the regular season.

Sharpshooting small forward Matt Ryan is signed to a sink-or-swim Exhibit 9 deal. Outside of one pretty awesome three-point shooting clinic, he has been a bit spotty. Undrafted rookies Scotty Pippen Jr. and Cole Swider are inked to two-way contracts with L.A., and have looked like promising-but-undercooked long-term project players.

Elsewhere on the injury front, the Sacramento Kings have announced that standout rookie forward Keegan Murray has been ruled out with an illness (not COVID-19), while new shooting guard Kevin Huerter is sidelined with a sore ankle.