The Los Angeles Lakers have dealt with injuries all season, but Anthony Davis’ latest groin injury could be the last nail in the coffin for the Lakers season.
After dropping game 4, the Lakers head to Phoenix with the series knotted at 2 games a-piece. Anthony Davis is unlikely to play , which will make this pivotal game 5 matchup much more difficult for the Lakers.
The injury bug is nothing new for the 2020-2021 Lakers, as LeBron James missed 27 games this season, and Anthony Davis has missed 36 games. James has now missed 27 games in two of the last three seasons, and Davis’ durability has arguably been his biggest flaw throughout his career. Davis has now missed 20 or more games in a season, 4 times in his career.
When Anthony Davis has been out of the lineup the Lakers were 19-17 this season, but were a mere 3-14 against playoff teams without Davis in the lineup.
LeBron James is likely the Lakers best player, but the argument could be made that Anthony Davis is the most valuable. His presence as the best big man in the game has made things much easier on LeBron James over the past few seasons. Davis’ ability as a two-way player, terrorizing the post and paint, makes the Lakers a threat on both ends of the court.
Throughout his career, LeBron James has been able to deal with adversity, specifically when it comes to injured star-players. But, he’s continued to propel his team to the Finals at a worldly rate. Whether it’s been a banged up Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving in Cleveland, or a banged up Dwayne Wade in Miami, LeBron has always found a way.
But, this season is different, the cards are stacked against LeBron James and the Lakers, heavily. If the Lakers are somehow able to get by the Suns, I don’t love their chances against a potential matchup with Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. If they somehow survive both of those, matchups, Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers could be waiting in the Western Conference Finals. Or, the Jazz who have bested the Lakers in 2 of their 3 regular season matchups.
LeBron James is 36 years old, and this Lakers team is not as sound as last season’s. Montrezl Harrell has been a disappointment, and relying on someone like Dennis Schröder can get dicey. With Davis out, 36 year old Marcus Gasol, and Andre Drummond will be thrusted into bigger roles.
If LeBron James is able to propel this seven-seed Lakers team to a Finals appearance, it would go down as one of his greatest accomplishments. He’s not healthy, Davis isn’t healthy, and this team simply doesn’t have the juice to keep up with the class of the NBA.
Groin injuries can be nagging , and a tedious injury for Davis to overcome. It could linger for a long period of time, making life much more difficult for the Lakers.
Making a Finals as a seven-seed is pretty unprecedented, as no team in NBA history has ever done it. Only one seven-seed has even made a Conference Finals appearance.
On top of that, this is LeBron James’ first playoff appearance in which he does not have home court in the first round. That aspect doesn’t make a world of difference, but it’s just another obstacle to overcome. The list of obstacles are seemingly growing by the day for this team.
Before the playoffs started, I had the Lakers getting out of the first-round, but that’s when it looked like LeBron James and Anthony Davis were rounding into form in terms of health. This sets them back, tremendously.
If anyone can overcome these odds, it would be LeBron James. But, from a health stand-point they’re just not there, and it will be the reason why they fall short.