The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a major setback when they learned Anthony Davis suffered an Achilles injury on Sunday night. The purple and gold lost the game against the Denver Nuggets but also saw how one of their biggest figures went down with a big injury.
Davis will be re-evaluated in a couple of weeks from now, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, but in the meantime, people have started to wonder how good or bad they will be without AD on the roster. That is the case of Stephen A. Smith, who revealed his thoughts about the Lakers’ situation without the Brow.
The veteran analyst explained that his first reaction to the news was thinking the Brooklyn Nets wouldn’t have problems winning the 2021 NBA championship but he also broke down how not having Davis will be crucial for the Lakers’ title hopes (starts at 0:27).
“The Lakers, as far as I’m concerned, are the only team standing in the way of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden winning the chip. And I obviously have dismissed the Eastern Conference.”
He explained that the Lakers are the only team with an elite defense and offense, which is exactly what is needed to stop the Nets Big 3 from putting their hands on the Larry O’Brien trophy in June.
“It’s going to take an elite team on both ends of the floor to knock them off. We’ve got elite defensive teams in the NBA, we’ve got elite offensive teams in the NBA. What we don’t have outside of the Lakers in our mind, due to LeBron James, what we don’t have is a team that has both other than the Lakers. That’s how we view them.”
“LeBron will be just fine. He’ll be there when it counts, but he needs AD. And without AD, the Lakers have no chance of winning the championship. If the Lakers have no chance, then who the hell is going to beat Brooklyn? That answer is- absolutely positively no one.
“The first thought that came to my mind is, the Brooklyn Nets are going to win the NBA championship if Anthony Davis can’t go.”
The challenge will be a lot harder for the Lakers if Davis can’t return to the lineup this season. The player was injury-prone during his stint with the New Orleans Pelicans and even though his first campaign in L.A. was just fine, now the purple and gold are in danger of losing him and leaving LeBron James alone in their quest for the back-to-back title.
