Thursday could be a tipping point for what happens in Game 6 of the Lakers-Warriors series on Friday.
Anthony Davis left in the fourth quarter with concussion symptoms, and was in such a bad state that he was reportedly escorted to the locker room via wheelchair.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said postgame that Davis was doing well, but if the big man regresses and is thrown into the league’s concussion protocol, he would be scratched for the next game.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Thursday that the determining factor will be if Davis shows concussion symptoms.
“This is not to take anything away from the game the Warriors played last night because they played terrific, but Anthony Davis and whether he can avoid the concussion protocol is the most important thing going on in the NBA right now,” Windhorst said Thursday morning on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “And it’s not something that would have been decided last night. He will continue to be evaluated today to see if he develops symptoms.
“I will tell you that having covered situations like that for the past 15 years, every concussion situation is different. None are the same. You cannot make assumptions. The other thing is this: It’s not necessarily the way he feels. There’s a series of tests they put him through that they can pair him to tests that he had when he was not concussed, to see how he’s reacting. If he has to go into concussion protocol, it is not a matter of how he’s feeling, or whether he can play through things. There is a predetermined list of return-to-play guidelines that take time.
“If he goes into protocol today, Game 6, almost 100 percent he will not be able to play, no matter what. Not up to him, not up to anything, and even Game 7, because of the return-to-play protocols, I would say, in my experience, very unlikely if he enters concussion protocol.”
That’s a pretty crazy report. Basically if Davis exhibits concussion symptoms there is a good chance he doesn’t play in Games 6 and 7. Davis has been a good barometer for this series. When he’s good, the Lakers win. When he’s not, they lose. If he is unavailable, it has a chance to completely change the course of this series.