Anthony Davis’ back-to-back caution stirs load management controversy

LOS ANGELES — It’s not the term they would use for it, but the Lakers have inadvertently thrust themselves into the dreaded discussion of load management.

The amorphous term can mean a wide of range of things, but to fans, it means one: Resting star players. Anthony Davis has now missed the second night of two back-to-back sets with a stress reaction in his right foot, which the Lakers are now describing as an “active injury.”

While the 30-year-old isn’t technically feeling pain in his foot, he’s been medically advised to not play on back-to-back nights lest he aggravate the injury – which might already require surgery after the season.

While the Lakers put the plan in place before Davis returned from 20 games out of commission, the decision has faced plenty of detractors – particularly after the Lakers lost to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, preventing them from rising in the standings and hitting the .500 mark for the first time all season. In the game, the Lakers played with only one healthy center, Wenyen Gabriel, and were plus-12 in his nearly 34 minutes in the four-point loss.

In the larger scope of the NBA, load management is one of the most derided practices in the eyes of fans, who decry how it limits the availability of the game’s biggest draws. Even Coach Darvin Ham acknowledged that the focus of teams has shifted in the regular season since he last played in the mid-2000s: Teams once fought tooth-and-nail for seeding and home-court advantage; today, they might rather rest stars to ensure health even at the cost of winning games.

That’s not a luxury the Lakers can afford, scratching for even a play-in spot at the moment. But other teams – Ham has seen the priority change over time.

“You’re gonna have to win on the road at some point in order to be world champions, so you just have to be solid, healthy, confident and playing in a good rhythm,” he said. “And no matter where you play, you give yourself a chance. But just having home court, I’ve seen teams multiple times, many, many postseasons have home-court advantage and it doesn’t matter, because they gave up those home games.”

The result has lessened the impact of regular-season games, when franchises might rest players in order to be healthy for the playoffs. It’s sparked discussions at the league level about what can improve the 82-game season, whether it be the creation of an in-season tournament, or attaching a games played requirement to individual awards at the end of the season.

Ham said the competitive spirit of the game should be motivation unto itself.

“I still think regular season is important, man,” he said. “I think we can’t get to a point where everybody’s not swinging for the fences and no one is trying to play their best basketball each and every time you step out there. That might not be realistic, you might not be able to do that, but that should be the goal and you should be trying to make an effort every time you step out on an NBA floor, be it regular season or playoffs.”

JAMES GOING THROUGH 3-A-DAY WORKOUTS

LeBron James is roughly a week away from a medical reevaluation of his right foot tendon injury, and while multiple media reports have cited that he could cut it close to the end of the regular season before returning, James has been more visibly on the court, doing spot shooting.

Dennis Schröder cryptically offered a comment about James’ recovery that left a lot of room for interpretation: “I can’t say too much. But German doctors are great. That’s what I’m saying.”

But the guard was more straightforward about what he’s seen from James in his pacing, saying James is working out three times a day in his effort to get back in uniform. Friday night’s game against Dallas was the 10th consecutive game he has missed with the injury.

Ham was less forthcoming about the status of James’ progress, or the workouts he’s doing.

“They’re intense and they’re going well,” Ham said. “I got a chance to sit with him real quick this morning and everything is going according to plan.”

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