"AD won a championship and said, 'Welp, that's all I needed to do'", "He even became a looney toon to emphasise the point" - Fans roast Anthony Davis for his recent “I haven’t touched a basketball since April 5th” comments
Anthony Davis' recent comments about him not having touched a basketball since April 5 don't bode well for the franchise, given the Lakers' track-record in recent times.
"I haven't shot a basketball since, maybe like, April 5th?"
r/NBA reacted to Davis' comments, turning in some hilarious responses.
The LA Lakers finished the season with a record of 33-49, failing to make the play-in tournament.
At the start of the season, the Lakers were championship contenders. However, as the season progressed, they were continuously relegated, first becoming a play-in team, then becoming the 11th seeded team.
Does the trio of Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook make the Lakers a contender with Darvin Ham?
Within two years of winning the 2020 NBA title, the LA Lakers have gone from championship contenders to missing the play-in tournament. A large part of this can be attributed to the acquisition of Russell Westbrook. His fit with the team is like a square peg in a round hole.
Anthony Davis' injuries allowed him to play less than half of the 2021-22 NBA season. In the 40 games he did play, the Lakers were 17-23. Anthony Davis had a negative box-score plus-minus in 26 of those games, with an average box-score plus-minus of -2.3.
Russell Westbrook recorded his lowest points average since the 2009-10 NBA season. His on-court fit was in contention the entire season, given his low 3-point percentage and lack of defensive prowess.
Going into the 2022-23 season, Darvin Ham will serve as the head coach of the Lakers. However, becoming a championship contender without 3-and-D players, two-way wings and fixed rotations will be extremely challenging.
Historically, Anthony Davis' health has not been reliable enough. We have also yet to see Ham's adjustments for Westbrook. Without a consistent big-man, if LeBron is forced to play at the five midway through the season, Ham's adjustments will likely be of no use.
The bright side for Lakers fans is that reports indicate the Lakers are aggressively trying to buy themselves into the second-round of the 2022 draft. They have conducted several pre-draft and free-agent workouts.
The other bright side is that LeBron James, at the age of 37, remains one of the best players in the league.