Lakers: Anthony Davis Could Be Out Longer Than Expected

Lakers big man Anthony Davis is suffering from a mid-foot sprain, and it turns out he could end up missing more time than the team initially anticipated.

When Anthony Davis initially went down with his mid-foot sprain before the All-Star break, the news was not good. Although he was cleared of any break in his foot, the MRI results came back and determined he would be out for 4 weeks. That meant that missing at least 10 games was a best-case scenario. 

But that timeline might have shifted once again, as many expected. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported today that the Lakers are expecting to be without AD for another 4 to 5 weeks. 

That puts his return right around the end of March, at best. If he was able to return on April 1st, that would result in Davis missing roughly 18 games. A team struggling to hold onto the 9th seed in the Western Conference while having one of their stars out for that long is devastating. 

“The Lakers dropped to 27-32 with Friday’s loss to the Clippers, ninth in the Western Conference and playing without Davis for what sources told ESPN are likely another four to five weeks with a right mid-foot sprain." 

If Davis is pushed to 5 weeks before a return, there would be a chance he doesn't play in the regular season at all. And that might be just what the Lakers are doing. They could be rolling the dice and taking their chances without him in hopes that he will be 100 percent ready for a playoff push. 

Not having AD available is really going to hurt the Lakers, there's no doubt about that. They're going to miss his ability to score and the defense that he brings to the paint. But they will need to find a way to survive without him.