Lakers Rumors: Anthony Davis on Minutes Restriction in Return from Knee Injury

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis will be on a minutes restriction in his return to the court Tuesday night against the Brooklyn Nets, according to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes.

The eight-time All-Star has missed a large portion of the 2021-22 season because of a sprained MCL in his left knee.

The Lakers' deficiencies were rising to the surface before Davis' injury, but his absence has magnified the difficult situation in which the front office has placed the team.

Acquiring Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards was done in part to ease the burden on Davis and LeBron James during the regular season. The move also made Los Angeles more top-heavy, which creates obvious issues when one of its best players is ruled out for any stretch of time.

For some, Davis' performance had left something to be desired as well. He was averaging 23.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. Those numbers are nothing to scoff at but below what he was doing in some of his best years with the Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans.

The Lakers might be so broken right now that another injury to Davis wouldn't make much of a difference.

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported on Tuesday that L.A. was holding off on firing head coach Frank Vogel in part because "no one believes changing the coach will yield dramatically different results."

Davis' MCL injury has been emblematic of a year in which little has gone right for Vogel and his players and there are no easy solutions to the most glaring problems.