The New Orleans Pelicans can’t afford to have Anthony Davis miss too much more time as their playoff hopes hinge on the health of their superstar.
Not only is there pressure to make the playoffs again for the reason of not regressing after a second round appearance a year ago, but Davis’ supermax extension and the possibility that he rejects it and effectively forces a trade this summer looms over everything the Pelicans do. Davis, however, has to think long term which is why he recently went to a hand specialist to look at his injured hand, with the possibility that he would miss two to four weeks more.
Luckily, the injury isn’t as severe as Davis and agent Rich Paul feared it could be, and Paul relayed information to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the Pelicans big man would be re-evaluated on Friday and again every two or three days for pain tolerance with the hope he could be back play next week.
After conferring with a specialists, Pelicans star Anthony Davis could return as soon as next week with finger injury and will be re-evaluated again on Friday, agent Rich Paul tells ESPN. “It’s a better outcome than we originally feared," Paul says.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 23, 2019
Davis suffered a volar plate avulsion fracture on his left index finger, and Paul says that Davis will be “re-evaluated every 48 to 72 hours,” following Friday. “It’s more of an injury of pain tolerance. They need to see the swelling go down and the range of motion increase." https://t.co/i0JbMCsHGx
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 23, 2019
This is obviously good news for all parties involved. Paul continues to insist they will be cautious with Davis until he’s near 100 percent, but the fact that he’s not as far away from being healthy as originally feared means his return, even being on the cautious side, will be sooner than later.
The Pelicans are currently 12th in the West, three games back of the Lakers for the eighth and final spot in the playoff race, which is to say they’re far from out of it, but also can’t afford lengthy absences from their best player that could cause at best stagnation and at worst a significant slide.
