Lakers Rumors: Anthony Davis 'Barred from Back-to-Backs' amid Foot Injury Recovery

Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis may not play in Wednesday's crucial game against the Los Angeles Clippers because it's the second night of a back-to-back.

On The Hoop Collective Podcast (starts at 41-minute mark), ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported Davis is "barred from back-to-backs" because of the foot injury he suffered earlier this season.

McMenamin reported after the Lakers' win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday the team's medical staff made the call to hold Davis out of the second night of a back-to-back because "the risk of re-injury increased from overuse."

"I haven't played in a back-to-back in a long time," Davis told reporters after Tuesday's game. "So, I mean, we'll all get on a phone call or something tomorrow morning and go from there."

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham told reporters no official decision has been made about the availability of Davis or D'Angelo Russell, who didn't play vs. the Jazz with a foot injury, for the Clippers game.

Davis missed his team's March 15 matchup against the Houston Rockets with a right foot stress injury, per the NBA's injury report.

The 30-year-old dominated with 35 points and 17 rebounds in a 123-108 win over his old team, the New Orleans Pelicans, the night before the Rockets game.

Ultimately, the Lakers had made an organizational decision to keep Davis from playing consecutive games on back-to-back nights:

The Lakers star has enjoyed a great individual season overall with averages of 26.5 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. Unfortunately, injuries have been the reason for him missing 26 of a possible 79 games this year.

L.A. is already managing an injury to fellow superstar LeBron James, who has played in five straight games after returning from a right foot tendon injury.

Winning consistently without James and Davis is obviously a difficult endeavor for the new-look Lakers, which have largely impressed since general manager Rob Pelinka gave the team a makeover before the trade deadline.

Ultimately, the Lakers need Davis and James on the court together as much as possible. They're in the middle of the playoff race in a tightly contested and largely mediocre Western Conference that appears up for grabs.

The Lakers and Clippers enter Wednesday's showdown with identical 41-38 records. The Clippers have won the first three meetings between these two teams and own the tiebreaker for the No. 6 seed.

If the Lakers win, they will have a leg up in the race for the sixth seed to avoid the play-in tournament with two regular-season games remaining after Wednesday.