The Los Angeles Lakers, yet again, faced another loss against the Sacramento Kings just a day after defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in the In-Season Tournament. The Lakeshow were overwhelmed by De’Aaron Fox and Co. by a 30-point margin, despite LeBron James scoring a triple-double in that game. Anthony Davis’ performance, in particular, attracted major scrutiny as the star center only registered 9 points, 1 assist, and 9 rebounds in 35 minutes of play.
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Though Davis’ inconsistency has been widely regarded as the greatest detriment for the Lakers, it seems like AD is quite self-aware of his lacking through the game today. In a post-game interview after the loss, Davis addressed the press regarding his abysmal performance, remarking the same with an NSFW comment. In an interview in the Lakers locker room, Davis said,
“I just played bad. I’m not going to put it on anything…It was just missed shots. I played like s**t tonight. It’s that simple.”
Anthony Davis said he “played like s—” against the Kings. While he acknowledged his left hip, which experienced spasms last week, was bothering him, he said “I still got to go out there and do my job” pic.twitter.com/W7trAxVuSz
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 16, 2023
It’s worth noting that Davis is recovering from a hip injury he picked up during the game against the Miami Heat. Though Davis slipped five turnovers in the game, the Lakers as a team coughed up 23 times, leading to Sacramento gaining a 30-point lead to seize the game.
The Kings’ players, Domantas Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox, and Kevin Huerter, led their team’s tempo to gain this massive victory against the purple and gold.
Anthony Davis’ lingering injury is costing the Lakers crucial games
Anthony Davis recently picked an injury on his left hip, making him experience spasms since last week. Though Davis has sporadically exploded to display promising bouts of performance, this injury is significantly taking a toll on the Center’s consistency and the Lakers’ performance this season. Davis acknowledged this injury as a core detriment to his form and said,
“I’m still treating it everyday. Obviously, you don’t get that day to really attack it with the back-to-back. But it is what it is. I suit up, I will play. I got to be more effective. Obviously, it was still bothering me a little bit, but I still got to go out there and do my job.”
The Lakers fans are concerned about Davis’ health as the star Center isn’t receiving enough rest from games to heal for the rest of the season. Though Davis was cursed with injuries since the conclusion of the Bubble, a fit AD is considered an important piece in Darvin Ham’s system to contend for the playoffs.
If Davis plays for over 65 games this season, he could have a good shot at contending for his first Defensive Player of the Year award.
