Lakers big man Anthony Davis will be a game-time decision Sunday in Miami, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Davis, who has missed the last 16 games with a sprained left knee, is listed as questionable in the Lakers' latest injury report.
Davis suffered the injury in a Dec. 17 game when an opposing player fell to the court and collided with the Laker's knee. He was cleared for full-contact workouts earlier this week, and there has been optimism that he might be able to resume playing during the current road trip.
There’s more on the Lakers:
- Russell Westbrook and coach Frank Vogel both want to move beyond the issue of the guard being benched for the closing minutes of Wednesday’s game, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Westbrook and Vogel acknowledged that they discussed the situation leading up to Friday’s contest in Orlando, which saw the former MVP back in his regular role. “I’ve been doing my job since Day 1 and doing everything that’s been asked of me since I got here,” said Westbrook, who admitted being angry over the situation. “And I’ll continue to do that for the betterment of the team and doing what’s best for us and finding ways to implement how I can make an impact on this team.”
- There were reports that Vogel received permission from the front office to handle Westbrook as he saw fit, but the coach said Friday that he didn’t talk to anyone in management before opting to keep Westbrook on the bench, believing the decision was his alone to make, Goon adds in the same piece. “I’ve got full autonomy to make any coaching decisions necessary to win games. That is something that has always been persistent there,” said Vogel, who has been under speculation that his job might be in danger. “I do communicate with the front office on everything I’m considering and there’s a strong alignment there. What it ultimately comes down to … we talk about a lot of different things and I have autonomy to make the final decisions.”
- Stanley Johnson, who signed his third 10-day contract on Monday, was in the starting lineup for the beginning of the second half Friday, notes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. Vogel attributed the move to matchups, and it worked as L.A. went on a 19-2 run to take control of the game.
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