Anthony Davis, the standout player for the Lakers, is set to visit an ophthalmologist today after an incident during Sunday’s game in which he was inadvertently poked in his left eye, as noted by Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). McMenamin’s sources indicate that Davis is experiencing swelling and difficulty keeping his eye open. However, his appointment is considered “precautionary,” he added.
The injury took place in the third quarter after Davis successfully blocked a dunk attempt from Toronto center Jakob Poeltl, as reported by Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. During this interaction at the rim, Davis accidentally sustained the poke and subsequently fell to the floor. Coach J.J. Redick later informed the press that Davis was dealing with some vision issues following the incident.
“I just know that he got poked in it,” Redick explained. “He was having trouble seeing. Obviously taking a little bit of trauma to the eye, it takes a little bit of time to get your clear vision back. But other than that, no update.”
Here are some further updates from Los Angeles:
- LeBron James notched 19 points, 16 assists, and 10 rebounds on Sunday, making him the oldest player in NBA history to achieve triple-doubles in consecutive games, according to McMenamin (Twitter link). As he approaches 40 next month, James reflected on the effort necessary to maintain his status among the league’s elite. “It’s pretty cool that with the amount of miles I’ve put on the tires, lack of tread on these tires, and I’m still able to get up and down the highway and do it at a high level,” James stated. “I just try to give everything to the game outside of the game before the game even starts, if that makes sense. I arrive here four to five hours before the game, and I’m already doing all the things to put me in position to be the best I can be when the fans are here and the ball is tipped and everybody’s going crazy.” He also mentioned, “I won’t do it until the wheels fall off, I’ll tell you that.”
- Redick commended Cam Reddish for adapting his playing style to better serve the team, according to Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Reddish made his second straight start on Sunday and appears to be fitting well into that role. “You just kind of have to have a long-term view and really embrace the things required for that specific team to get on the floor,” Redick remarked. “And for us, having a defensive presence guarding the primary matchup, primary scorer, those are the things that we need Cam to do. I told him early in preseason, I said, ‘look, we’re going to figure out the offensive part of it and where we can have you feel like you have a role there. But full stop for you to get on the floor, it has to be on the defensive end.’ And over the last week, he’s really embraced that.”
- Dalton Knecht remains hopeful despite a tough beginning to his NBA career, Price reports. As a first-round pick known for his long-range shooting, he has struggled, only hitting 27.8% of his three-point attempts in his first nine games. “I’m not speaking for him, but I think for shooters, it’s hard mentally when you get off to a slow start shooting the ball,” Redick said. “It can kind of weigh on you. I’ve talked to him about it, he believes the next shot’s going in every single time. And so do I.”
Image Source: Anthony Davis @ Instagram
