Lakers: Anthony Davis Status Changed for Wednesday's Game In Dallas

LA's big man may be back in Dallas

Anthony Davis has missed a few games due to a nagging knee injury he got in his last game. Wednesday morning, he was upgraded to probable.

Anthony Davis has been upgraded to probable for tonight’s game against the Mavs. He missed the last two games with left knee soreness

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 15, 2021

For all the "day to Davis" jokes or Charles Barkley's nickname for Davis being "street clothes," Davis has been reliable during the 2021-22 season. Davis has only missed three games so far. He has played the most games on the team other than Russell Westbrook. 

Trade AD?

Davis has had a lot of criticism sent his way over the past week or so. Almost all of it is undeserved. I defended Davis after Charles Barkley called him out, but the two games after that Davis admittedly underperformed. Over the last two days, however, the term "trade AD" was trending and that is just a bridge too far.

Davis is averaging 24 ppg, 10.2 rebounds, and 2 blocks. That's not Davis' best season averages, but they're comparable. When a team struggles it's easy to blame the big men, since they anchor the defense and the rebounds, but to blame Davis is to blame the person putting up the best overall numbers (in terms of PER and win shares) on the team. Trading Anthony Davis would only make the Lakers immediately worse. Empowering Davis is what will take the Lakers back to the playoffs. 

If the Lakers do make a trade it is clear that it needs to benefit them on the perimeter, or in big-man depth. A tandem of Davis and Dwight Howard is solid, but it certainly isn't enough.