Monday was a day of both encouraging and discouraging developments for Los Angeles. Lakers. On the court, the Lakers pulled off perhaps their most impressive win of the season, posting a 101-95 victory over the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers have lacked signature wins over top-tier playoff teams since Anthony Davis went down. They’re back to .500 (22-for-22) and have improved to 6-8 since Davis sprained the ACL in his left knee on Dec. 17. On the injury front, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel provided promising and troubling — and generally inconclusive — news.
In his pregame comments, Vogel announced that Carmelo Anthony would be ruled out for the third time in a row due to back problems. The 37-year-old participated in a last-minute target practice before kickoff and might be seen pointing to his back.
At the same media availability, Vogel revealed that Kendrick Nunn’s return would be delayed. Nunn, in whom the Lakers continue to insist he will play an integral role and is one of their few interchangeable assets, has yet to make his season debut following suffering a bone bruise in his right knee in preseason. The organization has been generally vague regarding his rehabilitation and has provided scant updates on his status.
“Kendrick actually suffered a setback,” Vogel said. “Well, not necessarily a setback, but the increased activity, his knee didn’t respond well. His knee did not respond well with the bone bruise. Bone bruises are complicated and your timeline is pushed back. I don’t have a firm timeline yet, but it’s backed off [con respecto a] the workload until it calms down.”
Finally, following a thrilling win in which the Lakers were able to field mostly small lineups and beat Rudy Gobert with Stanley Johnson, LeBron James (and, on one notable occasion, Russell Westbrook), Vogel offered a long-awaited update on Anthony Davis, who was tested Monday night.
“Everything looked clear on the MRI and the checkup with the doctors, so he’s been cleared for an increase on the contact court,” Vogel said. “That doesn’t mean we’ll have a timeline. There is still a reconditioning and acceleration of the work involved.”
