"This year, we had more starting lineups than we had wins" - Dejected Anthony Davis recaps LA Lakers' disappointing season after elimination from play-in picture
Anthony Davis was disappointed after the LA Lakers' 121-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. The defeat ruled them out of the play-in tournament, which means the star-studded Lakers team will be out of the playoffs for the first time in two seasons.
Davis looked back at the campaign and shared a few of his thoughts in the post-game interview. He felt his team had immense potential, but injuries prevented them from achieving their goals. The 29-year-old himself has featured in only 40 of the 79 games the Purple and Gold have played so far.
Having won a championship with the LA Lakers just two seasons ago, the big man is disappointed to not even be a part of the playoffs this time around.
Highlighting the difference between that championship-winning team and the current side, Davis said:
"That championship team, guys were healthy. We had our closing lineups, we had our starting lineups. This year we had more starting lineups than we had wins."
"Our goal was to win a championship...injuries got in the way of that." Anthony Davis talks about the frustration of the three Lakers stars not getting a chance to 'figure it out' and log minutes due to injuries. @LakersReporter https://t.co/nSp7iFJSHZ
Russell Westbrook's addition to the LA Lakers made the franchise early favorites to win the championship.
Westbrook was expected to ease the burden on Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Unfortunately, he was unable to get going, and the trio was not able to perform to their full potential as injuries kept either AD or James out of action.
Davis, James, and Westbrook have only played 21 games together this season. The Lakers were not overwhelmingly good during those games, but Davis believes that if the three superstars had played together more often, they could have made things work.
He said:
"Even though we lost games when all of us were on the floor, me, Bron, Russ, I think we are three great players and we would have figured it out if we logged more minutes together. But we weren't able to do that."
"It makes it tough to be able to compete for a championship when your three best players haven't logged enough minutes together. So it was unfortunate, but like I said, we gotta recap and figure out what rest of the season looks like and then what the summer or what the next season looks like."
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Anthony Davis has missed 39 games for the LA Lakers due to injury this season
Anthony Davis is one of the most important players on the LA Lakers team. His ability to create on offense and pull off big plays on the defensive end makes him a special player.
He has averaged 23.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game in 40 appearances this season.
"I could wear shoes that come up to my knees... There’s not one player in the world who could step on somebody’s foot from the air and not roll your ankle. It doesn’t matter the shoe. You step on somebody’s foot, you’re going to roll your ankle.”
latimes.com/sports/lakers/…
With him missing 39 games, LeBron James was the only player making an impact for the LA Lakers. Russell Westbrook found some form towards the end, but even then, the Purple and Gold kept losing games because of their poor defensive performances.
Many of the games the LA Lakers lost would have been victories if AD had been present. His defensive skill set is among the very best in the league. It would have been interesting to see how the Lakers' season would have turned out if injuries hadn't prevented him from playing.