Los Angeles Lakers star big man Anthony Davis will not suit up alongside his Los Angeles compatriots tonight for the team’s sixth and final preseason game, against the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports that the 6’10” big man from the University of Kentucky, who is apparently still dealing with lower back pain that kept him out of the previous two preseason contests out of five of Los Angeles so far, it will not be able to play tonight against the Kings.
When he’s played so far this year, Brow has been pretty productive in limited time.
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Through his three healthy exhibition games, Davis is averaging 19.3 points on 52.6% shooting from the ground (and 40% shooting from 3.3 attempts), 9.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, a steal and a block in just 21.4 minutes. He does note that head coach Darvin Ham is playing his older, more established players sparingly, using the preseason mostly to experiment with rotations and scout fringe players at the bottom of the roster.
Shooting guard Max Christie, selected with the No. 35 pick out of Michigan State University earlier this summer, has had an extra run this preseason. LA currently has Shaquille Harrison, Jay Huff and Nate Pierre-Louis signed to showcase 10 training camp deals. All three are likely to end up with the affiliate of the NBA G League team, the South Bay Lakers, for most of the regular season.
Small forward Matt Ryan is signed to a sink-or-swim Exhibit 9 deal. Outside of a pretty impressive 3-point shooting clinic, it’s been a bit spotty. Undrafted rookies Scotty Pippen Jr. and Cole Swider are signed to two-way contracts with Los Angeles, and they look like promising but undercooked long-term draft players.
Elsewhere on the injury front, the Sacramento Kings have announced that standout rookie forward Keegan Murray has been ruled out with illness (not COVID-19), while new shooting guard Kevin Huerter is sidelined with a sore ankle. .
Source: www.si.com