Sport Anthony Davis sparkles in Philadelphia but Lakers supporting cast provides no assistance

Anthony Davis returned to form in his second game back from injury, finishing with 31 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in 34 minutes, but if the Lakers are to capitalize off his strong play, they'll need some help from other sources as well.

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Davis returned two nights ago in a win over the Nets in Brooklyn after missing 17 games with a sprained MCL in his left knee. Starting at center, his return was a welcome sight for Lakers fans who have seen their ball club hover around the .500 mark for the majority of the season.

Davis had not played since Dec. 17 and in his absence, the Lakers went 7-10. Lakers' coach Frank Vogel indicated that Davis would be on a minutes restriction, but did not elaborate as to what the limit would be.

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Against Philadelphia, however, Davis saw his minutes increase, and his productivity flourished as a result. He was influential on both ends of the floor in his 34 minutes on-court. In spite of his efforts, the Lakers looked lethargic on the front end of a back-to-back.

"I thought he played really well, it was great to see him get a rhythm," said Vogel. "Anthony played a hell of a game on both sides of the ball."

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— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 28, 2022

Given that the Lakers have played such long stretches without all of their Big Three healthy at the same time this season, and now will be without LeBron James for an undetermined amount of time, the team will need the rest of their roster to step up.

MORE: LeBron James injury update

Sources: Lakers not planning to fire Frank Vogel as team continues slide

The Los Angeles Lakers will not be making a personnel move at this juncture and Frank Vogel will travel with the team tomorrow to coach in Orlando on Friday, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Vogel's job security has been a topic of speculation recently as the Lakers have four of their last five games, including a 111-104 defeat to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday in Los Angeles. In that loss, offseason acquisition Russell Westbrook was benched late in the game. Vogel told reporters after the game that he chose to play "the guys that I thought were going to win the game." Westbrook left the bench before the end of the game and did not speak to the media.

Vogel suggested that he expected guys like Russell Westbrook to up their game during the absences of the other stars.

“I think we would all hoped to have been better,” he said. “I think that’s one of the reasons we went out to get Russ is to handle one of those guys being out better than we did last year. So, 7-10 is something where we wish we could’ve done better.”

Against Philadelphia, Westbrook had 20 points and four rebounds, but the Lakers'  other role players struggled to have much impact - Malik Monk went 3-of-13, Stanley Johnson 1-of-6, Avery Bradley just 1-of-4 and the entire bench just 8-of-29 (27.6 percent) combined.

Los Angeles is 2-2 on their six-game Grammy road trip with another game at Charlotte on Friday, before closing out the trip with a game at Atlanta on Sunday.

As for his availability for tomorrow, the 3rd game in 4 nights since he returned from the knee injury, AD said he’ll “Wake up tomorrow and see how (his knee) feels” before they determine his status against Charlotte.

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This, as Frank Vogel's job is reportedly in jeopardy. View the original article to see embedded media.Lakers coach Frank Vogel has been told by the team's management to coach star guard Russell Westbrook as he sees fit, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, even if it means benching Westbrook at the end of games. ESPN's report on the assurances given to Vogel by the front office comes after Westbrook was pulled for the final 3:52 of Los Angeles' 111–104 loss the Pacers on Wednesday night. Westbrook logged 14 points on 5 for 17 shooting in 27 minutes on Wednesday night.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) January 28, 2022

The Lakers know that a dominant Anthony Davis puts them in a better position to win games, but to move up the West standings, they're going to need more from the rest of the team.

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