NBA Twitter was extremely concerned for Anthony Davis’ well-being even before he asked to be subbed out of Game 6.
Groin injuries are no joke, as anyone who’s ever had one will tell you. Unfortunately, Anthony Davis was added to that list in Game 4 when he sustained a groin strain that forced him to miss the second half and all of Game 5.
Typically that kind of injury takes weeks to heal, but AD was surprisingly available to start for the Los Angeles Lakers in their elimination Game 6 against the Phoenix Suns Thursday night. Even in warmups he was moving gingerly, leading many to question how he was going to play a full-speed basketball game against a determined Suns team.
With Davis clearly hobbled, Phoenix attacked him off the dribble repeatedly in the first few minutes, and it didn’t take long for everyone watching to be concerned about his well-being.
NBA Twitter was extremely concerned for Anthony Davis in Game 6
Even before the injury, NBA Twitter knew that the Brow should’ve been nowhere near the court, especially as the Suns picked on him over and over to build up a quick 14-5 lead.
AD pretty clearly can’t go. I’d be surprised if he plays past the 1st quarter tonight.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) June 4, 2021
Suns going right at AD mercilessly (as they should), forcing AD into ISO situations with D Book https://t.co/dFRlVYRZFN pic.twitter.com/0PhXLUDQ6x
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) June 4, 2021
Anthony Davis is playing but he's clearly not himself. If this wasn't an elimination game, there's no way he would be on the floor. Not sure how long the Lakers will let him play if he looks like he has thus far.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) June 4, 2021
Well, the Suns aren’t missing and AD is barely moving. So.
— Paolo Uggetti (@PaoloUggetti) June 4, 2021
Suns 5-for-5 from the field, 4-for-4 from 3-point range.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) June 4, 2021
Respect to AD for trying, but boy is he laboring
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) June 4, 2021
Yeah, just take AD out already.
— Michael Gallagher (@MikeSGallagher) June 4, 2021
Please get AD out of there.
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) June 4, 2021
I'll never criticize a player for wanting to play through pain/injury. We saw Kobe do that for 2 decades with an unmatched warrior (Mamba) mentality, but I think AD might hurt the Lakers more than help them here. Credit for being a warrior, but it might be time to sit down.
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) June 4, 2021
Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for Davis to submit and ask for a substitution after contesting a drive by Devin Booker and coming up lame.
AD went back to the locker room after going down. pic.twitter.com/Z3POnG4Qws
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 4, 2021
Anthony Davis limping towards the sideline before coming out of the game. pic.twitter.com/ZixIW6mAtj
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) June 4, 2021
Anthony Davis is hurting after contesting that Devin Booker attempt. He came out of the game the next possession and sat on the floor by the Lakers' bench, head down. It is quiet in here.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) June 4, 2021
Davis was ruled as questionable to return by the Lakers, but it was pretty clear he needed to sit the rest of Game 6 out, even as Booker and the Suns stormed out to a commanding 36-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Even if the defending champs go down in the first round, it’s just not worth re-aggravating a groin strain by trying to play through it.