The Los Angeles Lakers have reached the Western Conference Finals after Anthony Davis changed the course of the team’s journey. After a horrible start to the season, where they were on the verge of elimination, the team made a strong U-turn. The Gold and Purple lost ten out of the first twelve games. Even after gaining a much-needed balance after the February trade, they had no streak to help them rise up to the top ten.
The players kept getting injured and missing out on several games. And in that time of utter need, AD, along with D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves, helped the team maintain a few much-needed streaks to get them to the conference finals. The Brow has been the spearhead of the Lakers’ offense and the anchor of the team’s defense. But the only concern regarding AD’s game style is his inconsistency and injury-prone health. And once again, the Purple and Gold army’s fans are questioning his game when it is required the most.
Lakers Fans Are Tired Of Anthony Davis’ Disappearances In Crucial Moments
Now, the Lakers need to win eight games in the remaining games of the season to win it all. So clearly, they need Anthony Davis to deliver in every game to see the team lift the 18th championship for the first time since the inception of the NBA. But he sometimes just disappears from the scoresheet. That’s what the Lakers faithful are worried about. In Game 2, AD was almost invisible. And it is quite funny because he is 6’10 and is the star of the Lakers alongside LeBron James. Then how can the Lakers fan not depend on AD? In Game 2 against the Nuggets, he scored mere 18 points. It is quite shocking because two days before Game 2, Anthony Davis had a near to a 40 points game. Albeit, the Lakers lost both games and now find themselves 0-2 down against the Denver Nuggets.
But fans’ question is more than valid. How can they depend on a player who is so inconsistent? Moreover, these shocking performances of AD have an adverse effect on the team players as well. They don’t know who to pass the ball to in those situations. When Anthony Davis underperforms, it makes the job of the other players on the team a lot more difficult. Furthermore, he is such a central character in the team’s dynamics that everybody looks up to him. Even LeBron James has faith in Anthony Davis more than anybody. But people like Charles Barkley, who predicted that AD might have this underperforming game soon, were right on the money. Barkley clearly mentioned that “I don’t think AD is great because any great player cannot be as inconsistent as he is.” Looks like the Lakers’ star needs to show the world what he is worth in the next games of the series.
Can AD Prove The Critics Wrong?
The Lakers faithful know that if AD shows determination, then he can shoulder the entire team to the NBA finals. That’s exactly what they need to see now from Anthony Davis. According to the history of the Western Conference Finals, any team who fell behind 0-2 has not made it to the NBA Finals 56 times since 1971. There have been only six times when a team managed to make the finals from that situation. Anthony Davis has put the Lakers in this terrible situation due to his inconsistency.