Lakers Notes: Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook

Star/forward Anthony Davis isn’t expected to be out long.

Davis missed the Lakers’ win over the Spurs on Saturday, but is expected to return for Monday’s home game vs. the Pacers, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Davis suffered the calf injury on Friday, the first road win against the Spurs in two nights.

“He was kicked at some point in the second half [Friday] night and it’s a little irritated, a little bruising,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said, via McMenamin. “So just trying to stay ahead of it and be a little cautious and take our time with it.”

Ham added that the Lakers intend to be extra cautious with injuries in the season’s first half.

“We don’t want to push him this early in the season. And when you’re talking about different muscles and ligaments, it’s something that can easily turn into a year-long issue,” Ham said of Davis. “So just to avoid that, we don’t want to put any additional strain on the area.”

• LeBron James said it was a no-brainer to help Russell Westbrook after Westbrook took a shot to the head from Spurs forward Zach Collins. “His health is more important than the game of basketball,” James said, via McMenamin. “So just tried to stop that and let the training staff do their job after we got him over to the bench.”
• Westbrook initially got up and charged at Collins, before Westbrook noticed blood coming from his forehead. “Once I’m bleeding all over the place I was able to calm down and take care of that and I moved forward,” Westbrook told reporters.
• The Lakers continue to look for perimeter shooting help on the wing, though it seems that for the time being, they are not dangling Westbrook, sources told Hoops Wire. While they’ve patched together some wins lately, a tough trip through the East looms next week.
• James on the Lakers after Saturday’s win: “Early in the season we would’ve lost a game like this. We’re definitely buying into the extra pass. Guys are trusting their shots and not thinking about it … We gotta continue to work on our transition defense and our defensive rebounding.”

LeBron: "Early in the season we would've lost a game like this. We're definitely buying into the extra pass. Guys are trusting their shots and not thinking about it … We gotta continue to work on our transition defense and our defensive rebounding." https://t.co/53FW3wX5mX

— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvoNBA) November 27, 2022