The Los Angeles Lakers ate a costly 120-130 loss at the hands of the Sacramento Kings last night. they started the game hot and jumped out to a 30-13 lead in the first quarter before the Kings came back and led by as much as 22 points during the game. LeBron James reflected on the defensive fall-off, saying that Anthony Davis‘ getting in foul trouble was the main reason behind that.
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“It evaporated when AD picked up his second. It’s that simple. If you have someone like that, that controls so much of our defense, when he picked up his second in the first quarter and we had to make the sub, our defense kind of just fluttered after that.”
"It's just my ankle, what I've been dealing with before the break, after the break. I'm just managing the best that I can." LeBron James on his injury late in the 4th. pic.twitter.com/55XjyZaboQ
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 7, 2024
Anthony Davis likely would have been a DPOY candidate this season if the Lakers were competitive enough to be a top-four seed in the West. He has been marshaling the inside and switching onto the perimeter regularly and sets the tone for the Lakers defensively.
He had a rough game against the Kings, ending the night with 14 points and 11 rebounds on 5-13 shooting while Domantas Sabonis executed a 20-rebound triple-double. The Kings overcame their 17-point deficit by executing a 44-20 second quarter that tilted the game in their favor.
Davis is averaging 24.8 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 2.4 blocks this season, with his defensive output being among the best in the league. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the raw statistics in his favor like Victor Wembanyama or the team record like Rudy Gobert. Ultimately, his defensive contribution won’t be rewarded with a trophy that’s eluded him his entire career, but at least the Lakers highly value his contributions on that end.
LeBron James Provided An Injury Update
LeBron James was seen walking off the court during the game with three minutes left after a Lakers comeback seemed out of reach. While many assumed it was out of frustration at the loss, James revealed it was because of the ankle injury that’s kept him on the injury report for over a month.
“It’s just my ankle, what I’ve been dealing with before the break, after the break. I’m just managing the best that I can… Some games are better than others. I didn’t feel it at all against OKC and didn’t feel it all until the fourth quarter tonight. Each game is different.”
James missed a large stretch of the late-season last year while dealing with an ankle injury. His early return was much-needed for the Lakers Conference Finals run but he was limited and not able to impact the game as much as we are used to. They need a fully healthy LeBron if they want to have any chance at making a playoff run.
The Lakers are currently the 10th seed, tied with the Warriors at No. 9 and just half a game behind the No. 8 seed Dallas Mavericks. They have the room to make a run if they can find consistency in their results, with the No. 6 seed being just four games away.
The likelihood of the Lakers climbing reduces dramatically with every loss, so hopefully they can get their season in order soon. It might not be anytime soon as the Lakers’ next four opponents are the Bucks, Wolves, Kings, and Warriors.
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