The Los Angeles Lakers are going to be shorthanded for a while, as their superstar big man, Anthony Davis, is reportedly expected to miss at least a month with a foot injury.
Davis had been playing some phenomenal ball of late, as he had averaged 32.4 points on 64.1 percent shooting, 14.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game in 13 games going into Friday’s game versus the Denver Nuggets.
On Sunday, the Lakers were able to survive without him and muster a 119-117 victory over the Washington Wizards, their 11th in their last 17 contests.
It will take an all-hands-on-deck effort for them to win at least half of their games without Davis, and these three men in particular will need to play their best.
Lonnie Walker IV
Walker has been having a career season, and he has shown the type of consistency he was never able to maintain in four years with the San Antonio Spurs.
On Sunday he had 21 points on 7-of-12 overall shooting, and even though he hit 2-of-4 from 3-point range, he did a good job of attacking the basket and getting himself some relatively easy shots.
Going into that contest, Walker was averaging 15.2 points a game on 47.0 percent overall shooting and 38.5 percent 3-point shooting. He may have to average at least 20 points a game while Davis is out to keep L.A. afloat.
Russell Westbrook
Ever since being moved to the bench, Westbrook has done an admirable job of not only pushing the pace and getting others involved but also of accepting his somewhat reduced role.
However, his shooting accuracy hasn’t improved, and his accuracy on layups and shot within 10 feet is actually lower than it was next season.
Westbrook may not need to score a ton of points without Davis, but he does need to bump up his scoring average while significantly improving his shooting percentages.
Damian Jones
Jones got very little playing time prior to Davis’ injury, but on Sunday, he played 17 minutes and scored eight points.
With Jones, it isn’t necessarily about how many points he scores, but about getting easy baskets on fast breaks and lob passes, securing defensive rebounds and preventing opponents from getting easy shots in the paint.
Story originally appeared on LeBron Wire
