Anthony Davis tried to play in Game 5, wants to play in Game 6 - Silver Screen and Roll

Before the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns tipped off for Game 5 on Tuesday, Frank Vogel revealed that Anthony Davis would be a game-time decision. Davis was listed as questionable on the team’s injury report on Monday, but he was hopeful that enough treatment would allow him to play in Game 5.

As he went through his pre-game workout on Tuesday, that hope quickly subsided.

“The first time I came out and shot, jumping up and down and just the basic shooting — spot shooting — was fine. It’s when I tried to run and push off that kind of bothered me,” Davis said after practice on Wednesday. “My shooting time is always two hours before the game, so I literally came straight to the arena, put a heat pack on and went straight out there. It didn’t feel god.

“So, I went to the back, got some treatment for like 20 minutes, got it loose and then went back out and nothing changed from the running to pushing off. I just wasn’t able to move. Every move that we make, it starts with the groin. Any other injury — the knee and all that — you can kind of finagle a way to move, but the groin is a tough place. I just wasn’t able to do it last night.”

Davis suffered the groin injury in Game 4 on Sunday; a game in which he tried to play through a knee injury that he suffered in Game 3. Davis’ effort was admirable, but he discovered that his decision ultimately cost him more time away from the court.

“They told me everything is connected and that’s exactly what happened,” Davis said. “The groin happened because of the tightness in the knee from the hyperextension. That’s kind of what it was ... I was feeling the knee kind of the whole game. Even the first couple of plays, I was feeling it. And then I just went up to lay the ball up, and as soon as I went up, I just felt it from my knee and it shot up into my groin. That was kind of the end of it.”

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Davis tried to stay engaged in Game 5 by being a vocal leader in the team’s huddles, but he knew that the court is where his teammates needed him the most.

“It’s tough,” Davis said. “Especially last night, watching the game and not being able to help the team on the floor. That’s the toughest part: knowing that I can contribute but my body just won’t allow me to.”

Davis wants to play in Game 6 on Thursday, but whether or not he does isn’t up to him.

“Hopefully all of the treatment and rehab that I’m doing pays off and the doctors clear me to go tomorrow,” Davis said. “That’s what we want. I’m getting more treatment tonight, tomorrow and I’ll talk to the doctors before and after our shoot and hopefully everything come back good so they can clear me. That’s what we’re hoping for.”

The Lakers and Suns will tip-off at 7:30 p.m. PT on Thursday. An update on Davis’ status will be provided half an hour before the game at the latest.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.

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Anthony Davis tried to play in Game 5, wants to play in Game 6 - Silver Screen and Roll
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