“Without Anthony Davis, the Lakers have no chance against Kevin Durant’s Nets”: Stephen A. Smith believes LeBron James and co. cannot win 2021 NBA title with no AD

Stephen A. Smith says that if Anthony Davis isn’t healthy in time for the NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers have no shot at the title. 

The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers have had a relatively dominant start to their 2020-21 NBA campaign as they currently boast a 21-7 record, good enough for 2nd in the Western Conference. LeBron James has been leading the squad in points and assists per game all while putting together a solid MVP campaign for himself. 

Anthony Davis has taken a sort of backseat this season, playing second fiddle to James. Davis was starting to find his groove on the team these past couple of weeks but the injury bug bit during a game against the Denver Nuggets. He reaggravated his right Achilles injury after bumping legs with Jokic on a drive to the basket. 

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He has been diagnosed with a right calf strain and will be re-evaluated in 2-3 weeks’ time. 

Stephen A. Smith doesn’t believe the Lakers are a threat to win it all without Anthony Davis. 

In today’s NBA, it is almost crucial to have at least two top 7 players on your team if you want to seriously contend for a championship. The NBA is dominated by duos at the moment, however, there’s a big 3 residing in Brooklyn, New York that has the potential to outgun every other squad in the league. 

Stephen A. Smith took to First Take to talk about the Lakers’ chances if Anthony Davis’s injuries persist and he wasn’t all too optimistic. 

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“The Lakers, as far as I’m concerned, are the only team standing in front of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden winning the chip. LeBron will be just fine.”

“He’ll be there when it counts but he needs AD. Without AD, the Lakers have no chance: then who the hell is going to beat Brooklyn? Absolutely positively no one.” 

LeBron James can only do so much on his own. Without Anthony Davis, they would be without their defensive anchor and their secondary offensive weapon. They wouldn’t get far in the Playoffs without the ‘Brow’.