Lakers' Anthony Davis on Achilles Injury: Doctors Said 'Everything Looked Good'

Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis said doctors told him "everything looked good" regarding his strained Achilles after he went down in Sunday's loss to the Denver Nuggets.

"The doctors don't want to rule out anything," Davis told reporters. "Everything looked good, but you still want the MRI just to make sure."

Davis went down late in the second quarter while attempting to drive past Nikola Jokic. He will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of the injury, which to this point has been categorized as a strain.

It's a promising sign that doctors feel Davis avoided catastrophic injury. Achilles ruptures are typically such severe injuries that doctors can make an initial diagnosis without an MRI, so it's likely Davis avoided anything season-ending.

The issue at hand seems to be finding a proper timetable for Davis' return. The Lakers will proceed with an abundance of caution, both to preserve Davis' long-term health and to avoid any major setbacks as they push to repeat as champions.

Davis seems likely to miss several weeks, and even then it's a situation that will take a level of care to manage once he returns. As Davis himself found out, he can feel fine and receive clearance from doctors while still being one wrong step away from a reaggravation.

Davis is averaging 22.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game this season. He was well on his way to an eighth straight All-Star appearance.

The Lakers will undoubtedly suffer in his absence, with LeBron James having to shoulder the load as the only All-Star on the roster. Expect to see more playing time for Kyle Kuzma and perhaps Montrezl Harrell and Marc Gasol.

If Davis misses an extended window of games as expected, the Lakers could easily slip into the No. 4 or No. 5 seed in a loaded Western Conference.