Anthony Davis couldn’t be of much help in the Lakers’ 99-110 loss against the Nuggets while probably aggravating his back injury.
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Much like their game against the Portland Trail Blazers, all the Lakers Big-3 weren’t totally healthy before the game against the Denver Nuggets.
Anthony Davis and LeBron James were tagged “probable”, while Russell Westbrook was “doubtful”. The latter sat out because of his hamstring issue, or so the team says, but the championship-winning duo took the court to get the Lakers their first win of the season.
But what ended up happening was an embarrassment the King hadn’t gone through since his rookie year. The Lakers lost their 4th consecutive game.
And AD probably aggravated his back issue while hanging on the rim after a dunk. Yeah, you heard it right. It was a disbelief even for the internet.
NBA Twitter destroys Anthony Davis for his fitness once again
While the LA team was still very much in the game in the first half, there was an instance in the 1st quarter where Davis went for a dunk as the Lakers were chasing the game 16-19. And as weak as it looks for an 8x All-Star and one of the NBA’s official greatest-ever players, the 29-year-old looked to have damaged his back even further.
It was enough for Twitter to wake up with its ‘injured again’ memes.
The Purple and Gold team managed to stay in the game for three quarters, allowing Nikola Jokic and Co just a point cushion. But The Joker ran away with that lead in the fourth, while Davis struggled to defend him as he did decently well in the first two quarters.
2x MVP had 13 points in the first half but came through with 10 in the 3rd quarter alone, and 8 more to finish the game 110-99.
AD could take inspiration from Nikola Jokic
While The Joker had 31 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals at his home with a game-high plus-minus of ‘+28’, the Lakers Big man had his 4-game worst ‘-22’ in the same category.
With his same 6’11 length, and a much better build for an athletic game, the Brow had all the skills of a point guard and would even show many glimpses of it until his 2019-20 season.
However, the Serbian international has made himself literally the player everybody saw AD as a few years back. Davis might not have the passing ability of the reigning MVP, but he has the potential to be a great passer as he played as a guard in high school.
While it’s tough to see Davis back down from the lead man on the offense, the Lakers will benefit more from him being a willing passer than a jump shooter where he ranks among the worst in the league.
