I am just happy for him – Darvin Ham on Anthony Davis’ return

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham was happy after the team’s talisman Anthony Davis returned to action for the team in a 113-104 win over San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night. Davis came off the bench after almost a decade in his career but most importantly he was able to hit the ground running after the injury layoff as he scored 21 points.

Davis had missed almost six weeks of action due to a fractured bone spur and stress reaction in his right foot. The linchpin was playing at the top of his game before he was ruled out but injuries have hampered his progress in the last few seasons.

“It was definitely new for me since I’ve been playing,” Davis said. “I told them, I said the last time I came off the bench was the 2012 Olympics.”

“I’m happy for him, first and foremost,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said before the game. “I know how frustrating this process has been for him, especially at the level at which he was playing. I’m just happy for him, and definitely happy for us. We’ll get him out there, we won’t go too crazy with his minutes, and see how he responds.”

Davis was introduced with 4:22 remaining in the first quarter and played for a total of 26 minutes. Ham wanted to manage his workload as he was returning back after an injury.

As expected, Davis looked a bit rusty on some occasions of the game. “I was kind of just testing the water,” Davis explained. “Even though I’ve been playing pick-up and things, you can control that pace. In real games, you can’t. They’re flying down the floor and you’ve got to sprint back or your team is running.”

In fact, Davis was fouled by Zach Collins in the third quarter, which was tough for Ham to take. However, fortunately for the Lakers, Davis was alright after the collision in the end.

“I almost fainted,” Ham said when asked for his reaction to the foul. “To see him jump up, bounce up, ‘Big Fella, you good?’ He said, ‘I’m all right. I’m OK.’ So, that was a huge relief to see him overcome that unfortunate play.”

Ham added that Davis has gone through a tough time because of injuries and it was important for him to tick the right boxes on his return.

“He’s gone through some rigorous therapy, weight training, weight-bearing exercises, activity on the court — both individually and some group workouts,” Ham said.

“We would save him from himself if we thought there was any type of threat or harm that he could do to himself. So he had these boxes that he had to check, and he’s checked all of them. So we feel comfortable with him appearing tonight.”