Anthony Davis was forced to leave the court in the first half of Los Angeles Lakers ' first Play-Off game against the Memphis Grizzlies, with the NBA star believed to have sustained a stinger on his right arm.
Davis attempted to rebound a missed Lakers shot with just over a minute to go in the second quarter, but instantly went down clutching his arm following the contact. The Lakers were trailing 58-56 at the time, but went into half-time six points behind the Grizzlies.
Thankfully, their star was cleared to return to the court after being assessed in the locker room. But the Lakers medical staff will be keeping a watchful eye on Davis, with his fitness crucial to their Play-Off hopes.
Davis was heard saying "I can't move my arm" before being escorted to the locker room, but the Lakers star bounced back after some close examination. Davis came out to a wild ovation after being ruled available for the second half, but it's likely that further tests will take place after the game.
Although a huge member of the Lakers' roster, Davis' fitness has restricted him in his NBA career as he's built a reputation for being injury prone. This time it looks to be nothing more than an injury scare, but the Lakers will still be wary about his condition moving forward.
It's impressive that the Lakers even made the postseason after an awful start to the campaign, with the team once 2-10 towards the start of the season. They booked their place after a victorious Play-In tournament run, and will be looking to cause an upset against the Grizzlies over the seven-game series.
LeBron James has his sights set on another NBA Championship, but made a worrying statement before the end of the regular season about a lack of chemistry within the franchise. "We just want to put ourselves in position to be able to compete for a championship," James said.
"It's a journey, and obviously, we don't have as much chemistry as a lot of other teams trying to compete for a championship or that have aspirations to win a championship, but I like what we've been building over the last month or so." James has only just returned from a month-long injury lay-off, but was observant during his time out.
"Even when I was out for the four weeks, I liked what we've been building, and I'm happy to be back in the mix. We got to continue to build what we've been building over the last month or so. So, we'll see what happens."
