Anthony Davis has been the center of the Los Angeles Lakers’ turning point in the season. He led the side pretty well when LeBron James was unavailable. At the beginning of the season, there were speculations about AD’s consistency and fitness. He missed as many as 20 games this season on the trot due to a stress injury since December. Later, when he returned, the performances were not up to the mark. But the moment when James sustained the tendon injury on his right foot and missed almost a month’s schedule of the team’s games, AD showed his true class.
The Lakers were in deep trouble as they could not climb up to the top ten. But with AD’s resurgence, the Lakers were able to make the postseason. He had good support from Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and the rest of the team. Now the Lakers are not just in the postseason but also cruising their way to the second round of the playoffs. However, it may not be as easy as it sounds.
Fans Are Not Too Excited About Anthony Davis Playing For 48 Minutes
For Game 6, the Lakers will meet the Grizzlies at their home at the Crypto.com arena. In Game 5, LeBron James had a disappointing outing, but Anthony Davis had a superb time scoring 31 points. Albeit, they could not help the team win. It is clear both AD and James need to be at their best. After Game 5, the Brow mentioned, “I’m willing to play the whole 48 minutes if the team needs it.” Last game, he played for about 35 minutes. Moreover, in recent times Anthony Davis has not played a game for more than 42 minutes. That is because there has always been a concern about his fitness.
Hence, the fans are not confident enough about AD playing the whole game. They presume that he will sustain a more severe injury in that process and may miss the rest of the season. If anything happens to Anthony Davis, then it can certainly be all over for the Lakers. He has been a pillar in the Lakers’ defense as well as offense. AD had a stellar comeback this season as he averages 21.8 ppg, 13.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.6 steals, and 4.2 blocks per game. The Lakers’ coach Darvin Ham had said that AD is not completely healthy. He still has got an active injury. Hence, neither the team nor AD can put too much stress on his feet.
Can AD And The King Help The Lakers Go To The Second Round Of Playoffs?
The Lakers have indeed a 3-2 lead over the Grizzlies. But they lost the last game in Memphis, where they could’ve sealed the deal. But now, fans are worried about the team’s inconsistency, which has troubled them throughout the season.
Chances are that the Grizzlies can take advantage of their lack of consistency to win round 1 by coming back from behind. Now, it falls down to Anthony Davis and LeBron James not to let that happen. They are experienced, and they know how things go in the playoffs.