Lakers star center Anthony Davis will not miss time because of his latest eye injury, he said Tuesday after practice.
“The eye is fine,” he said.
Davis got poked in the left eye during the third quarter Sunday night in the team’s win over Toronto while blocking Jakob Poeltl’s dunk attempt. Davis fell to the court in significant pain and left the game.
“Nothing happens next,” said Davis, who missed a game last week because of a sore heel, an injury the Lakers are continuing to monitor. “I go about my days as I would any other day. There’s nothing I need to do. The next step is getting some more sleep and getting ready for tomorrow.”
There was visible redness in the center of his eye, but Davis said doctors cleared him. And before the question even could be asked, he said he would not wear protective eyewear.
“I don’t want to,” he said. “…I wore goggles. For three years when I was younger. I just don’t want to, to be honest. Obviously, the doctors said I didn’t have to. Now if it gets to a point where a doctor’s orders are to [wear them] … if it gets to that point where my eye doctor tells me that I need to wear them, then of course I will. But I’ve been cleared to go out and play without them.”
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Davis said he practiced in goggles on Tuesday. D’Angelo Russell didn’t practice because of an illness ahead of the team hosting Memphis on Wednesday.
Without Davis, the Lakers leaned on backup center Jaxson Hayes, who led them with a plus-21 rating. He finished with 12 points and six rebounds in the 123-103 comeback win over the Raptors.
“Both sides of the ball, just doing his job, putting pressure on the rim offensively, screening, and then his offensive rebounding as well, got us a couple extra possessions,” coach JJ Redick said of Hayes. “And then he’s had back-to-back defensive games that were outstanding.”
The Lakers are going to have to lean on Hayes as Redick announced veteran Christian Wood is going to miss at least the next four weeks after experiencing soreness in his left knee. Wood didn’t play after the All-Star break last season because of a knee injury, had surgery this summer on the knee again, and in his slow ramp-up to play, suffered a setback. He hasn’t played in an NBA game since Feb. 22.
Still, Redick said the Lakers are comfortable with their frontcourt depth.
“We’re very confident in Jaxson. And Christian has really picked up our language and terminology and system,” Redick said. “So we know that AD is maybe not going to play 81 games. So feel confident with both those guys.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
