Anthony Davis hopeful that he can return this season for desperate Lakers: 'I'm very optimistic about it'

 

There is still no firm timetable when it comes to Anthony Davis' return to game action for the Los Angles Lakers, but the All-Star forward is hopeful that he'll be able to get back out there this season. Davis suffered a foot sprain in a game against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 16, and he has been sidelined since. With just under a month remaining in the regular season, the Lakers sit ninth in the Western Conference standings with a 29-38 record. 

"I'm very optimistic about it," Davis said of his return, via ESPN. "I'm trying to get back on the court as soon as possible. As far as a number or something, I would love to say 100 [percent] but with only a certain amount of games yet, not 100 percent sure."

The injury occurred when Davis jumped to catch a pass and landed on the foot of Jazz center Rudy Gobert. While discussing the injury for the first time, Davis revealed that he initially thought there was a chance that the foot was broken. 

"When it first happened, I heard the crunching, like everything in my foot," Davis said. "And the first thing I heard, when I looked up and I just saw either Royce O'Neale or Donovan Mitchell turn around [and say], like, 'Oh s---.' And when I looked down, and I couldn't move my foot, my first thought was, 'Please let it not be broken.'

"The first thing I thought was, 'Not again,'" Davis added. "I just got off of [being sidelined] four-to-six [weeks]. Now I got another four-to-six. So that's where the anger came from. ... It was a little bit of relief that it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but more so anger of, 'Here we go again.'"

The Lakers aren't going to rush Davis back, but obviously the quicker he can get back out there the better. The team has been floundering without him, and if L.A. has any hope of turning what has been an extremely disappointing season around, it will need his services. 

In Davis' absence, LeBron James has done everything in his powers to keep the Lakers afloat. At 37 years old, James is second in the league in scoring (29.7 points per game), and he has recorded two 50-point games this month alone. The fact that Davis isn't able to be out there to help James shoulder some of the load has added a level of frustration to his most recent stint on the sideline. After all, Father Time is bound to catch up to James eventually. 

"We don't know how long he has left in this league," Davis said of James. "Phenomenal player, future Hall of Famer, and to be able to play alongside him, you want to take advantage of it. We did the first year. Last year we both were banged up, and then this year, it's [injuries] again but more so me. So every day it's closing. That's another frustrating part. A lot of guys don't get to play with talent like that. I have the opportunity to do so. ... I want to take advantage of that time." 

Time might not be running out on James' prime quite yet, but it is running out on the Lakers' season. Davis' return is about the only thing that could potentially give the team a boost at this point, so they have to hope that his optimism translates into a swift return to action.