Here's the good news: Anthony Davis is reportedly expected to return to the Los Angeles Lakers before the end of the month.
Here's the bad news: Basically everything else.
The Lakers' problems run much deeper than the absence of Davis (and Kendrick Nunn, for that matter). Los Angeles is 8-8 without AD this season and 5-8 in the 13 games he has missed since he sprained his MCL on Dec. 17. They had managed to win five of the first 10 since AD's latest injury, largely thanks to spectacular load-carrying from LeBron James and a nifty pivot to centerless basketball.
However, as their ongoing three-game skid — including a 37-point blowout loss to the Denver Nuggets — has made starkly clear, the Lakers cannot tread any more water without their star big man. The ship is sinking. Here are three reasons why they need AD back ASAP.
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Lakers need Anthony Davis back ASAP
1) Their defense is atrocious
The Lakers had started to pick up their defense before AD went down. At the time of his injury, the Lakers' defensive rating had snuck into the top 10.
Over the past 13 games, without their stalwart manning the middle, the Lakers are giving up 118.2 points per game, second-worst in basketball. They're 27th in defensive rating in that span.
“We have to get back to the drawing board and get our defense right,” head coach Frank Vogel said. “We haven’t performed well enough in the past few games on that side of the ball. … There’s some things we can definitely correct and will correct. But we also have to definitely improve on the defensive side.”
Over the past five games, they've surrendered an average of 123.4 points per game.
“It’s not good enough,” Vogel added. “We have a new group that we’re trying to get these guys to learn our system and learn our double teams and learn each other on the fly and we haven’t had much practice time to get this group as connected as we needed to be. We’re working on it. We’re doing everything we can. But definitely not where we want to be.”
Russell Westbrook — and Magic Johnson, FWIW — chalked the Lakers' issues up to effort more so than X's and O's.
“We have to make a decision on if we’re going to play hard,” Westbrook said Saturday night. “Sometimes, the schemes and how you play doesn’t really matter, you just have to play hard. Sometimes, teams are just playing harder than us, simple as that. Even when we’re winning, we’re giving up a lot of points, but now, it’s showing, especially when we’re losing games and teams are just putting their head down and going. We have to do a better job of defending.”
Dwight Howard echoed Westbrook's comments.
“The conversation about playing better defense, we shouldn’t have to have that conversation,” Howard said. “We should all be tired of hearing it and make a difference. … It shouldn’t keep coming up. … It has to change or we’re going to keep having these two games where we play pretty good then four games where our defense is subpar.”
As with most things in life, the truth lies somewhere in between. The Lakers' effort has been surprisingly inconsistent for a team as accomplished, prideful, and (supposedly) title-driven as this one. That said, they don't have the talent on the roster to field an above-average defensive group without AD.
(In a smart move, they re-signed Stanley Johnson to another 10-day contract.)
2) LeBron's load
LeBron James has admirably put the team on his back for a month. Since Davis hit the injury list — after LeBron had already caught fire for a few weeks — the 37-year old James has averaged nearly 37 minutes per game.
Sure, he has been awesome in those minutes: 30.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 64.5% true shooting. And yes, LeBron is barely human. He need not apologize.
But. this is unsustainable, especially if Westbrook isn't going to play like an All-Star. After all, the genesis for the Westbrook acquisition was to add another highly productive star to ease the burden on LeBron and spell the Lakers when either James or Davis has to miss time or wants to take it easy. Oops.
3) The schedule
Arguably, the most discouraging aspect of the Lakers' season is that the schedule was supposed to be a relative cakewalk until now. The Lakers have faced a mere handful of title contenders, and they've played the majority of their games at home.
The Lakers are 6-15 against teams currently in the top 10 in one of the two conferences. Let's break down those wins:
- 10/24: They defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in the third game of the season, 121-118, at home, and have since been owned by the Grizzlies three times.
- 10/29: They beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 29, 113-101, at home.
- 11/8: They beat the Charlotte Hornets in overtime, at home.
- 11/10: They beat the Miami Heat, in overtime, at home. Jimmy Butler did not play the second half.
- 12/15: They beat the Dallas Mavericks in overtime, 107-104, on the road. Luke Doncic did not play.
- 12/31: They crushed the Portland Trail Blazers, 139-106, at home on New Year's Eve. The Blazers (17-25) are 10th in the West and mid-free fall.
That Portland victory kicked off what seemed like an encouraging four-game win streak. But it came against four non-playoff teams: Portland, the Minnesota Timberwolves (without Karl Anthony-Towns and D'Angelo Russell), the Sacramento Kings (who they've since lost to), and the Atlanta Hawks.
Their last five tests against more formidable playoff teams — Memphis twice, Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns, and Brooklyn Nets — have resulted in Ls.
Of their remaining 39 contests, 24 are against teams with winning records, and 23 are on the road.
On Saturday, the Lakers were roasted by Nikola Jokic. On Monday, they face Rudy Gobert and the Utah Jazz.
Again, Davis's insertion back in the lineup won't fill every pothole. This is a deeply flawed roster with unreliable “care factor” — to quote Vogel — and the Lakers continue to talk about “figuring it out” as if it's training camp. They sacrificed championship-proven depth to acquire Westbrook, and that grand experiment has failed, thus far. The schedule presents a road full of speedbumps.
Still: AD's return can't come soon enough.
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