How soon is help on the way?

It’s a question that is as pressing as ever for the Lakers, who were only treading water when Anthony Davis was healthy, but have fallen off even more since he got hurt. There’s at least some hope that he’s progressing from his midfoot sprain: Davis took the court for some shooting on Friday night before the Lakers’ game against the Toronto Raptors.

“Anthony’s had a good week,” Coach Frank Vogel said. “He’s progressing in his intensity level on the court as tolerated and he’s had a productive week. But no real updates or anything like that on Anthony.”

Davis has played just 37 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 23.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots. Since his sprain on Feb. 16, the Lakers are just 3-9 after the All-Star break, sorely missing his size as an interior scorer and rebounder.

At this point, there are a few recognizable patterns to Davis’ rehabilitation: The Lakers have brought in at least one specialist to work out with him and strengthen his foot. On-court work before games is another positive sign. As Davis gets closer, he’s likely to do on-court scrimmaging with teammates as he did when recovering from his knee injury in January.

Davis said earlier in the week that the number of injuries he’s had, while unfortunate, has helped him mentally stay focused in his rehab process. He’s also been able to keep his fitness with cardio workouts that are meticulously timed and tracked.

“It’s kind of been those simple things, wearing a heart-rate monitor, making sure my heart rate gets up,” he said. “But I’ve never really gotten out of shape, even when I had my knee, felt like I came back fine.”

There’s a less clear path for Kendrick Nunn, who has not yet played this season. While General Manager Rob Pelinka said last month that he expected Nunn to return in late March from a right knee bone bruise, Vogel said there’s “no update” on Nunn’s progress.

There were other discouraging health updates: Carmelo Anthony and Wayne Ellington were both listed out before the game due to a non-COVID-19 related illness, while Talen Horton-Tucker was a late scratch with left ankle soreness. The Lakers made some surprising lineup adjustments in response, going big by starting Wenyen Gabriel at power forward and veteran Dwight Howard at center.

“Those guys not being out there hurts because (Toronto) is a pack-it-in-the-paint team that dares you to beat them over the top,” Vogel said. “So it hurts not having those shooters offensively, but we’ve still got enough to get the job done.”

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Even though the Lakers did manage to win on Friday, their overtime effort against the Raptors leaves some uncertainty for who will play Saturday night in the back-to-back against the Washington Wizards. LeBron James, who has sat out several games with left knee soreness this season, played nearly 45 minutes and scored 36 points.

Vogel joked that he might play James even more against Washington, but said the team will make the decision tomorrow after traveling.