SAN ANTONIO — Being whole is not a luxury the Los Angeles Lakers have had during the early season, and not having Anthony Davis for Saturday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs because of a bruised left calf was the latest hit for the team.
It was left up to LeBron James to carry the burden for the Lakers in just his second game after missing the previous five with a left adductor strain. James did so, scoring a season-high 39 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the Lakers’ 143-138 victory.
James made a career-high-tying seven three-pointers, shooting 11 for 21 from the field to help the Lakers (7-12) beat the Spurs three times in a seven-game span.
Dennis Schroder contributed 21 points and six assists while former Spurs guard Lonnie Walker IV scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to help turn back a late rally by San Antonio.
Coach Darvin Ham said Davis “was kicked at some point in the second half” of Friday night’s win over the Spurs.
“It’s a little irritated,” Ham said, “(There is) a little bruising. So, just trying to stay ahead of it and be a little cautious and take our time with it. But he’s out.”
Davis had been on a tear in the last five games, averaging 33.4 points and 17.6 rebounds while shooting 64.4%.
Ham said the Lakers want to be cautious in back-to-back games with Davis, who missed one other game this season because of back tightness.
“Just it being a back-to-back, the load he was carrying, specifically with (James) out, it’s just the smart and right thing to do,” Ham said. “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 yearlong issue. So just to avoid that, we don’t want to put any additional strain on the area. The medical people decided it was the right thing to do and I totally agree.”
With Davis sidelined, the Lakers started Thomas Bryant at center. They also were without starting point guard Patrick Beverley, who served the second game of his three-game suspension.
Schroder, who started in place of Beverley for the second consecutive game, and Bryant both missed the first 13 games because of thumb injuries.
So, Ham was asked, does he ever wonder what his team might look like whole?
“I’m the type where until it gets to that point, I’m going to manage what I have to manage. I’m not a guy that looks down the road,” he said. “The daily work for me is we’ll be where we need to be and we’ll be healthy and whole when we get there. But we have to handle first what’s in front of us each particular day. So, I just roll with the punches. That’s how I was taught.”
