EL SEGUNDO — Lakers star Anthony Davis said after Tuesday’s practice that his left eye is “fine” and that he’ll be available for Wednesday night’s home game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that Davis had his eye examined by an ophthalmologist Monday, with Davis saying he was cleared to play.
“Nothing happens next,” Davis said, with his left eye notably red. “I go about my days like I would any other day. There’s nothing I need to do. The next step is getting some more sleep and getting ready for [Wednesday].”
Davis’ status for the last couple of days was uncertain after he was ruled out early in the fourth quarter of Sunday night’s home win against the Toronto Raptors because of an eye injury he suffered while blocking Raptors center Jakob Poeltl midway through the third.
Poeltl hit Davis in the eye while Davis was blocking his dunk.
Davis immediately fell to the court and was writhing in pain before team doctors checked on him. He went to the locker room and didn’t return to the Lakers’ bench for the remainder of the game.
The All-Star big man suffered a corneal abrasion to his left eye on March 16 last season but played in the Lakers’ next game.
He also suffered a left eye injury on April 7, which forced him to miss one game.
Despite the hits to the face and eye, Davis is adamant about not wearing protective eyewear/goggles.
“I just don’t want to, to be honest,” he said. “Obviously, the doctors said I didn’t have to. If it gets to that point where my eye doctor tells me that I need to wear them, then of course I will. But I’ve been cleared to go out and play without them.”
Despite trailing 73-70 when Davis exited the game on Sunday, the Lakers won the final 17½ minutes when Davis didn’t play 53-30 en route to a 123-103 victory.
Backup center Jaxson Hayes had 12 points and six rebounds in his 14 minutes on the court after Davis left the game.
“Jaxson – both sides of the ball, just doing his job, putting pressure on the rim offensively, screening, and then his offensive rebounding as well, got us a couple extra possessions,” Lakers coach JJ Redick responded when asked what encouraged him in the minutes Davis wasn’t available. “And then he’s had back-to-back defensive games that were outstanding.”
The Lakers will have to rely on Hayes even more than originally expected coming into the season.
Redick said on Tuesday that Christian Wood “developed some soreness” during his return-to-play ramp-up from early September left knee surgery, adding that the team is “going to scale him back” and that an update on Wood’s status is expected in about four weeks.
Wood hasn’t played since Feb. 14. He was sidelined for a month with what the team initially deemed “left knee effusion” (swelling), before having arthroscopic left knee surgery on March 19 and missing the final two months of the 2023-24 season. The 29-year-old big man had another arthroscopic left knee procedure on Sept. 9, with the team initially saying that he’d be reevaluated in about eight weeks – which was last week.
“We’re very confident in Jaxson,” Redick said. “And Christian has picked up our language and terminology and system. So we know that A.D. is maybe not going to play 81 games. So feel confident with both those guys.”
GIVING BACK
The Lakers, along with East West Bank, hosted a Thanksgiving Feast at the team’s training facility on Tuesday for 100 Crete Academy students.
A Thanksgiving meal, photo station, carnival and shopping experience were part of the evening. The Thanksgiving Feast is the first of three community efforts the Lakers are hosting as part of their “Season of Giving,” with a turkey distribution and holiday party for underserved community members planned for the future.
“We’re all in the daily grind of being a basketball player and it’s kind of cool to kind of get away from it, see all these kids, see the smiles on their faces, how care-free everybody is,” Max Christie said. “Just a reminder to myself and my teammates that it’s bigger the basketball and basketball isn’t the end all, be all.”
GRIZZLIES AT LAKERS
When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV/radio: ESPN, Spectrum SportsNet/710 AM
