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The Los Angeles Lakers are currently on life support to make the play-in tournament, particularly so after their Sunday night defeat against the Denver Nuggets. But the biggest game of the season was arguably the game prior against the New Orleans Pelicans.
In order to keep pace with the San Antonio Spurs for the 10th spot and give themselves at least a chance at the 9th spot over the Pels, that game was a must-win for the Lakers. However, Anthony Davis and Co. fell short in a 114-111 win.
The Lakers star was asked if there was any lingering animosity that may have impacted the game one way or another. According to him, he wasn't taking anything personally, but didn't turn a blind eye to his former team relishing wins against him and the purple and gold in particular.
Via Lakers postgame:
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“Not personally for me. Maybe for them? But for me, it's another game. Obviously you want to win those games, but to take it that deep I don't look at it like that. I just try to go out and help the team win. It just so happened that it is New Orleans. They get really excited when they beat us. Their social media team does all this other things. They had the upper hand on us this year. They have all the right to do so. But we just try to continue to do what we can do, but me personally I don't look to that.”
Los Angeles does have bigger fish to fry than worrying about a rivalry over a trade that happened more than two seasons ago. It's hard to divert any attention against the catastrophe that has been the current Lakers season and the dwindling hopes that they make the play-in tournament as a whole. The fact that even such a basic goal now looks bleak is clearly the huge burden on AD, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and the rest of the team's shoulders.
However, it's hard to take Anthony Davis' words completely at face value. The saga that brought over Anthony Davis was one that created a beef that fans still simmer whenever the two teams face off. While things haven't looked all that sunny in New Orleans, especially when it comes to their supposed new franchise savior in Zion Williamson, the fact that they're one of the teams sneaking into the play-in tournament amid all their own turmoil must bother him quite a bit.
The prospect of a Pelicans-Lakers 9 vs. 10 showdown was juicy particularly for that reason, with Anthony Davis having to return to the place the he spurned years ago and play in front of a crowd largely ready to boo him. The inverse would likely be true in that getting a play-in win at the Smoothie King Center would have probably tasted just a little bit sweeter for him.
But at the end of the day, all that pales in comparison to the Lakers being in such a dreary situation in the first place. Competing against the likes of the Pelicans, Spurs, and being well below an injury-plagued Clippers side, was just not what the Lakers faithful expected.
