CHICAGO – For a long, gut-wrenching night, Anthony Davis kept replaying one particular detail about the instant when Jaden McDaniels rolled into his left knee on Friday: He heard a pop.

To an athlete, few sounds emanating from one’s own body can create such dread. Davis started to wonder: Was he done for the season? Would he miss even more? The leg throbbed so much as he trudged back to the locker room, he collapsed in the Target Center tunnel just to take the pressure off of it.

A preliminary exam determined the most likely damage was a knee sprain, but until the Lakers made the flight to Chicago amid the Midwestern snow drift and took an MRI, he couldn’t be sure. Even days later, Davis didn’t want to specify how bad he thought the injury might be.

“I was emotional, I was just like everywhere,” he said. “But like I said, thank God that it wasn’t that.”

The Lakers may not feel quite as thrilled as Davis: Playing the next four weeks, if not longer, without their star big man isn’t very appealing. Davis was averaging 23.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in 27 games. Added to the already disastrous state of the roster with six players in the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, the rotations are looking mighty thin for the foreseeable future and beyond.

But Davis seemed relatively relaxed, albeit for the bulky brace he had on underneath his black sweatpants as he spoke to reporters on Sunday afternoon. He was, above all, relieved that it wasn’t a worse injury, likely not as serious as his Achilles strain that was the main reason he missed half of the regular season last year. And from his perspective, the Lakers, hovering in the crowded middle of the Western Conference, aren’t necessarily in bad position to stick to their title goals.

“We’re still in a good spot,” he said. “So hopefully we can stay afloat with all the stuff going on around the team and being able to still pursue our goal, which is to win a championship.”

Davis described the play with McDaniels as “freaky.” He was reaching for a pass from James in a pick-and-roll, and could only see McDaniels in his peripheral vision – too late to react. Davis said his knee didn’t hyper-extend; the only reason the damage wasn’t worse was because his knee was bent and the joint had slightly more give than if his leg was locked.

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Davis isn’t happy to miss time, especially starting with his only annual visit to United Center to face his hometown Bulls. But he said teammates, off-court friends and especially his wife have helped him gain perspective on his upcoming rehab. He speaks to his wife on the phone every day when the Lakers are on the road.

“She’s the one who’s always in my ear throughout the season – whether a good game, bad game, lose, it’s always, ‘Everything happens for a reason,’ and ‘God don’t make mistakes.’” he said. “So that’s kind of what you need when things like this happen to you. You need that support system and she’s been there.”

Playing with an injury-riddled roster is nothing new for the Lakers, who had to weather early absences from James this season. The star trio of Davis, James and Russell Westbrook has only played 291 minutes spanning 15 games this season, not exactly what the front office envisioned. Davis acknowledged he thought the Big Three were just starting to jell.

But far from stewing over the missed opportunity, Davis said he expected to be active on the sideline, communicating and trying to guide the team the Lakers still can put out on the court.

“It’s time to get in coaching mode: helping the guys – we have a lot of new guys – and getting them still adjusted to our system, what we’re doing, just being there for them, talking to them,” he said. “I’ve been here a couple years now so I know what we expect and all the new guys here.”