DETROIT — The Los Angeles Lakers’ perfect 3-0 start to the season already seems like a long time ago.
Monday’s 115-103 loss to the Detroit Pistons dropped L.A. to 4-3 overall and 1-3 on their five-game road trip. Making matters worse, Anthony Davis, who scored 37 against Detroit to up his lead-leading average to 32.6 points per game, was examined after aggravating a left foot injury in the fourth quarter.
“I’ll talk to my trainer and just kind of figure out what exactly is going on,” Davis said after the game. “I’ve been managing it since this summer, honestly, and my goal for every game is to be on the floor. And I just kind of landed directly on the spot that’s been killing me. So, we’ll figure it out.”
Davis has not been ruled out of the Lakers’ game at the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday to conclude the trip, sources told ESPN. However, those sources cautioned, with the foot issue plaguing the All-Star big man from the end of last season through the Paris Olympics, it will be a day-to-day situation.
Davis caught an entry pass from LeBron James to score with 4:46 remaining in Monday’s contest to draw L.A. — which trailed by as many as 20 in the first half — within 103-96. But the bucket came with a consequence. When Davis planted his foot after jumping to catch the pass, the discomfort occurred, and he winced as he made his way back down the court on defense.
The Lakers called timeout 20 seconds later when James collected the rebound on a Tobias Harris miss, and Davis immediately went to the floor, grabbing at the back of his left foot near the heel before receiving medical attention from his athletic trainer, Jon Ishop. Davis stayed in the game and scored on an alley-oop dunk from James on the next possession to cut Detroit’s lead to five points with 4:10 left, but the Pistons finished the game on a 12-5 run from there to close things out.
James, who finished with 20 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds while playing a season-high 40 minutes, was asked what Davis’ potential absence could mean for L.A.
“I don’t know,” James said. “I’m going second by second.”
While a reporter followed up, Davis — who was standing next to where James was sitting — chimed in to say, “He’s not out,” referring to himself.
James, hearing Davis, chose not to entertain the hypothetical.
“I don’t play the ‘if’ game,” James said. “We’ll go off what AD says and see how he feels over the next couple of days and go from there. But it don’t take a rocket scientist to know [the impact] if AD’s in or out. C’mon.”
While Davis’ status might be in question, he made his opinion about his team’s recent play crystal clear.
“We’re just two different teams right now,” Davis said. “One game, we’re this team who showcased it can be one of the better teams in the league. Then the next, we’re this team who — I don’t even know who we are. So, we just got to be better.
“We got to put a full 48 [minutes] together, and we can’t continue to do this if we expect to do anything this season.”
From the second half of L.A.’s victory at the Toronto Raptors on Friday through the first half in Detroit, the Lakers were outscored 141-108 by two teams that failed to make the playoffs last season. It’s the latest lull in a disappointing trip that started with an Oct. 28 loss against the Phoenix Suns after L.A. failed to protect an 18-point lead.
Falling to the Suns caused several players to state their team goal of not losing twice in a row all season, only for the Lakers to drop their very next game, to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Following that defeat, Davis labeled the Toronto, Detroit and Memphis games all “must wins,” another goal that was not met by this Lakers team trying to find its footing.
“We’re all disappointed,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said when asked about his team’s demeanor after Monday’s outing. “We’re all disappointed.”
