Anthony Davis on how LA Lakers treated game against Pistons as must-win: "We lost in Philly, me and Bron didn't play in Cleveland"
Anthony Davis and the LA Lakers embarked on December 2 on a season-high seven-game road trip that could potentially make or break their season. The Lakers held an 8-12 record when their East Coast swing started. A poor stretch could drop them further down the standings.
LA, however, started with easily their best win of the season when they beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. They followed it up with a Davis masterpiece against the Washington Wizards before losing three straight.
Here’s what AD had to say about the Lakers’ win versus the Detroit Pistons to cap off their 11-day sojourn on the road:
“It’s a must-win for us, we knew that. We lost in Philly, me and Bron didn’t play in Cleveland. We consider this a successful trip, .500. Last game is always the toughest because you’re going back home, been on the road for 11 games. We stayed resilient and kept fighting in a must-win for us.”
"We stayed resilient and kept fighting." @AntDavis23 on the #Lakers performance down the stretch, Austin Reaves' big shot and more. https://t.co/M12uooNhhY
Going home 3-3 is certainly way better than heading back to Crypto.com Arena with a 2-4 record. What started very well for the LA Lakers went south quickly when Anthony Davis became ill. LeBron James also had to sit out one game due to left foot soreness.
New head coach Darvin Ham has looked like he has figured out his best strategy to lead the Lakers’ bounce-back season. The team’s progress, however, has been hindered by their inability to get healthy at just the right moment.
Given how Anthony Davis played before getting ill and James in top form, they could have done much better. An argument could easily have been made that they could have gone 5-1 on that trip had everyone been healthy.
Despite their 3-3 slate, they should head home knowing that when they’re at their best, they can topple the best teams in the NBA.
Anthony Davis and the LA Lakers will go home to host the Boston Celtics
Up on the Lakers’ cards is a showdown with their eternal rivals, the Boston Celtics, owners of the NBA’s best record. Boston just suffered a humbling loss to the Golden State Warriors in a rematch of the Finals last year.
The Celtics will be eager to put that behind them when they take on the LA Lakers on Tuesday.
While the Lakers’ offense has started to hum over the last three weeks, they will be facing Boston, who is on a historic offensive efficiency. The Celtics could still be without Al Horford, who is under the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and Robert Williams. Despite that, they’re expected to give the Lakers everything they can handle.
Here’s Anthony Davis on their first meeting with the Celtics this season:
“We feel like we can beat anyone. We’re playing good defensively, our offense is clicking. So we expect it [versus Celtics] to be a good game for us.”
The Lakers scraped by the last game of their longest road trip of the year to beat the team with the NBA's worst record.
It gave them a bit of a palate cleansing as they prepare to face the team with the NBA's best record come Tuesday, the Celtics: ocregister.com/2022/12/11/lak…
The LA Lakers took the Milwaukee Bucks’ best shot on the road and came out winners. LA should be no pushovers when they battle the Celtics, especially with Anthony Davis in peak form.