NBA 2021 Los Angeles will have to survive several matches without James and Anthony Davis
AP
P.A few decades ago, At Riley said that repeating is even more difficult than winning the first title. It referred more to the ego of the players, but also because it takes a fortune in regard to injuries to get the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Health smiled at the Lakers last seasonas his rivals in the playoffs did not complete with Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook, Jamal Murray, Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler. Now they have the other side of the coin.
Anthony Davis has not played since February 14 and his return will be until mid-AprilLeBron managed to keep the boat afloat and struggled to adjust at the start (they lost 4 of the first 5), but they had 7-6 mark for Saturday’s game in which ‘El Rey’ fell
James sustained a sprained ankle in the first fifteen minutes that caused him to fall out indefinitely.He might as well come back more or less if ‘La Ceja’ returns, although it is also true that James hardly loses any time due to injuries. S, the same L.eBron admitted it is the biggest pain he has felt in his career, but it is also true that he sustained 8 ankle sprains and lost just three games, well ESPN published that similar injuries usually cost 10 recovery games; actually a month.
There is a possibility that Lakers are without their top two numbers for a similar time and that will change the season. The first impact of this injury is that heThe post-season race in the West is being changedAfter losing to Atlanta, the Lakers are third at 28-14, 2.5 games behind the Utah Jazz, but only three losses less than the seventh in the conference, the Spurs.
The itinerary from here to the end of March includes matches with the Lakers, Pelicans, Cavs, Magic and Bucks, and they will face the Clippers, Heat, Nets, Celtics and Jazz twice in the first 20 days of April. It will be a historic meltdown if the Lakers miss the postseason, but they could fall to the bottom of the table, and even with non-full capacity stages it should win three series without the locala to even reach the final, with an otherwise complicated path and not with favorable duels because they were the first seed.
The other point affected is the race for the MVPLeBron was one of the favorites after Davis’s injury and with the loss of Joel Embiid. Few have won the MVP by losing more than 10 games. This could open the door for someone else to sneak in. Nikola Jokic and his nearly triple-double could be the beneficiary, especially if his Nuggets manage to outpace the Lakers in the table (it’s 2.5 games today), which isn’t surprising to think without James on the team, or if the Nets manage to rise to the top of the East with James Harden command.