Lakers Rumors: Anthony Davis Could Return from Injury in Next 7-10 Days

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Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis could be nearing his return to the court.

Davis, who has been out since mid-February after suffering a right calf strain and an aggravation of his right Achilles tendinosis, may be playing again within the next 10 days to two weeks, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on NBA Countdown (h/t ESPN’s Dave McMenamin).

Team doctors will re-evaluate the eight-time All-Star when the Lakers return to Los Angeles on Thursday, per Wojnarowski. L.A. is currently on a seven-game road trip that ends Tuesday against the Charlotte Hornets.

Wojnarowski added more remarks about Davis later in the show: “He’s made great progress, they expect Thursday’s evaluation to go well, and then it’ll just be a matter of ramping him back up there.”

The Lakers can’t get Davis back soon enough. The big man has averaged 22.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, and L.A. has gone 17-5 when he plays 25 or more minutes. The Lakers are just 15-16 otherwise.

L.A. isn’t in any danger of missing the playoffs, although it has slipped down the Western Conference standings to fifth.

That’s unideal, but it’s more important for the Lakers to get Davis back healthy for the stretch run and be as close to 100 percent as possible for the postseason.

Until then, the Lakers do have a tough schedule to navigate if Davis doesn’t return until late April. The slate includes a pair of home games against the team with the NBA’s best record in the Utah Jazz as well as two road matchups against the 28-22 Dallas Mavericks.

Following its Saturday tilt with the East-leading Brooklyn Nets, L.A. also has two road games up ahead against the New York Knicks and Charlotte Hornets, who are currently in playoff position.

Davis and the Lakers are looking to win back-to-back NBA titles after beating the Miami Heat for last year’s championship.