Is Anthony Davis playing tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers? | 2021-22 NBA season

Anthony Davis and the LA Lakers will continue their Eastern Conference road trip when they visit the Wells Fargo Center in Pennsylvania to take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. The two teams will face off for the first time this season, while their second matchup is scheduled for March 23 in Los Angeles.

The Lakers have lost five of their last eight games, but many analysts believe that the return of Davis could spark a turnaround in their fortunes. They have 34 games left, and if they manage to go 24-10 in that stretch, they could salvage their season and grab a top-six spot in the West.

Under coach Frank Vogel, they are a top five defensive team in the NBA when Davis is on the floor. They plummet to nearly the bottom of the standings without him.

If LeBron James continues to drop the stellar numbers he is currently averaging and the Lakers figure out how to best utilize Russell Westbrook's abilities down the stretch, it isn't far-fetched to think that they can grab a top-six seed. They are 24-24 right now as the ninth seed in the Western Conference, but are just 2.5 games away from the sixth seed.

The LA Lakers will face the might of Joel Embiid for the first time this season. So they will desperately need a rim-protecting big man like Davis in their lineup to contain him. Embiid has been averaging nearly 40 points per game on over 50% shooting from the field, so the LA faithful could be curious if the Brow would lace up tonight.

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What is Anthony Davis' status for tonight's game against the Philadelphia 76ers?

Anthony Davis of the LA Lakers

Anthony Davis is officially listed as probable for the game against the Philadelphia 76ers. He has recovered from the MCL sprain in his left knee. However, the LA Lakers have listed him on the injury report so that they have the liberty to pull him from the lineup until tip-off.

The good news for Laker fans is that LeBron James is off the team's injury report for the first time in months.

He was always listed as probable so the team could make a last-minute decision to remove him from any game. Kendrick Nunn is the only injured player who is continuing to recover from the bone bruise in his knee. Sekou Doumbouya and Mason Jones are both sidelined, as they are sent to the NBA G-League.

Davis would hope that he doesn't have to deal with minutes restriction in this game. He played only 25 minutes in his last game, and attempted eight shots from the floor. Davis believes if he needs to be cautious while playing, he shouldn't lace up at all, which suggests he is ready to play the full game. He said in this regard:

"I feel ready...I don’t know about the whole minute restriction thing. I think that might, for me, come off. I might tell them that I don’t need that, but we’ll see. I’ve got the back-to-back coming up and want to play that smart...Until I get my legs, I got to use these games to get my legs. But I don’t think about it when I’m playing. I don’t want to babysit it. If I feel I’ve got to babysit it, I shouldn’t be out there on the floor."

Anthony Davis added that he just cares about winning and doesn't want to overthink his injury. When he is on the floor, he just cares about playing and letting the game come naturally to him, saying:

"For the most part, I felt fine. I felt great out there, and the first couple of minutes, the adrenaline took over, and after that went away, the wind caught up to me. When I got my second wind, I was fine for the rest of the game....When I’m out there playing, I’m just trying to do what I got to do to help the team win and let the rest just take care of itself....Don’t do it. I just go out there and just play."

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When will Anthony Davis return?

Even though he is listed as probable, Anthony Davis is expected to play tonight against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. Considering that it is the front end of a back-to-back, he could rest Friday night against the Charlotte Hornets.