Anthony Davis after suffering a left foot injury gives an update on his recovery. He recently said his rehabilitation from the stress injury in his foot is progressing well and the pain he has been experiencing is greatly reduced.
The Lakers struggled without Davis. After Davis injury the Lakers are one of the weakest defensive teams giving points in excess of 130 and more. Davis recently called out on his team’s defensive deficiencies.
“I think our main [struggle] is defensively,” said Davis. “We took a huge dip defensively. I think maybe three games in a row we gave up like 130 which is not us. It’s not the team we’ve been. Even when I was in the lineup we took some dips, but that’s my biggest thing right now.
Obviously being the anchor of the defense and guys thinking like, ‘Okay, AD in on the back line,’ which allows us to do different schemes defensively when I’m on the floor. Just been trying to give these guys my insight on the defensive end, looking at clips, grabbing the iPad and showing guys when they come out, things like that.
The offense though, we’ve been scoring. We just haven’t been defending and that’s where our struggles have been. Transition, rebounding, everything on the defensive end.”
In the five of their last eight games the Lakers gave up 130+ points three times and 120+ points on two occasions since the Davis injury. They hold a record of 4-7 without Davis. The Lakers hold a current record of 15-21. The fight for a spot in the play in tournament is next to impossible for the Lakers if they are weak on their defense.
Before Davis injury he was in the form of his life scoring 40+ points on three occasions. Davis scored 44 points against the bucks and 55 points against the Wizards before suffering a foot injury against Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers got no one blocking the shots and a thin front court. The team has gone with small lineups consisting of four – five guards. Coach Darvin Ham defended his strategy by saying such lineups are chosen in order to increase the tempo of the game. The lineups failed miserably giving away offensive rebounds and no option of fast break points.
The Lakers are looking in for trade to a 3-point shooter on their roster. They got the worst 3-point shooting record in the league this year. Anthony Davis injury has halted all the plans of the Lakers trade. A lot lies on the shoulders of Lebron James to carry the team forward.
NBA Trade Rumors : Lakers intrested in trading for Bogdanovic, Evan Fournier and Cam Reddish
