Lakers: Anthony Davis Hoping For a Playoff Return

Lakers big man Anthony Davis is battling through a mid-foot sprain, and he's hoping to be ready to go for the playoffs.

The Lakers are just hoping and praying for a shot at the playoffs at this point. With such high hopes for an NBA Championship run when the season started, their 9th seeding in the Western Conference feels like a massive failure. 

And that could be attributed to a number of things. Roster health is certainly one of the reasons that things have gone poorly. The failure of inserting Russell Westbrook into the rotation is another issue that has plagued the team as well. 

But the Lakers have been without Anthony Davis for far too much of the season. That has caused a lot of the pressure to fall on LeBron James, who is doing his very best to shoulder the burden. Davis is currently out with a  mid-foot sprain, and it sounds like he will not be ready to go anytime soon.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, AD is taking steps to get back. That would include shedding the walking boot that he has worn since the injury. Woj said that their hope right now is for him to be ready for the playoff run.

"His walking boot is off, and I'm told that next week the next step for him is to get on the court and do some stationary shooting. They still with 16 games left for the Lakers and the toughest schedule left in the league, the expectation is that they can hold onto the play-in. So getting to the postseason, they could have Anthony Davis back."

Davis has not played since February 16th when he sustained the foot injury after landing on Rudy Gobert. He was originally projected to miss 4 weeks with the mid-foot sprain. But when he's healthy, Davis can be a dominant force for the Lakers on the court. 

He was averaging 23.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists this season before going down with the injury. But if the Lakers can pair Davis up with LeBron James again, there's no telling what they're capable of.