Lakers Rumors: Anthony Davis' Head Injury Hasn't Been Mentioned as Concussion

The Los Angeles Lakers haven't yet classified the head injury Anthony Davis suffered in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals as a concussion, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report reported Davis is expected to be available for the team in Game 6 on Friday.

McMenamin noted why the official designation is significant: "Davis, if diagnosed with a concussion, would not be able to be cleared until 24 hours after the initial injury, or late Thursday evening."

The eight-time All-Star exited Wednesday's 121-106 defeat to the Golden State Warriors after being inadvertently elbowed by Warriors big man Kevon Looney.

The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Thursday he "did appear to recover significantly after Game 5 and was feeling much better after struggling while being attended to on the Lakers' sideline."

ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported on Get Up that Lakers trainers will continue to evaluate Davis. He added that entering the concussion protocol now would almost certainly rule the veteran big man out of Game 6 and potentially even Game 7 if the series extends that far.

Davis is averaging 21.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 3.4 blocks through 11 games this postseason.

The importance of the 30-year-old for Los Angeles largely goes without saying. The team has a plus-6.0 net rating when he's on the court during this playoff run, per NBA.com. Its net rating falls to minus-6.2 when he's on the bench.

While general manager Rob Pelinka did well to fill out the supporting cast ahead of the trade deadline, the Lakers' championship hopes rest firmly on the contributions of Davis and LeBron James. Losing one of the two for multiple games could be nothing short of a disaster.

As Windhorst said, Davis' status will be one of the biggest stories in the NBA in the coming days.