In what was maybe one of the worst performances from any NBA team so far in the 2024-25 regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Miami Heat by a whopping 41 points on Wednesday night.
One of the more captivating storylines from the lopsided affair was that Lakers star Anthony Davis got outplayed by aging Heat big man Kevin Love. Davis mustered a season-low eight points while shooting an abysmal 3-of-14 from the field, while Love chipped in 10 points, four rebounds and five assists in far less playing time off the pine for Miami.
Someone who played with Love on the Cleveland Cavaliers, Channing Frye, took to X and claimed that his former teammate should not have been able to get the better of Davis on both ends of the floor.
This might be the worst effort I have ever seen in the last few years. This Lakers team quit before the game even started. In no world should (my guy) Kevin Love be able to guard AD or AD not go at him every time.
— Channing Frye (@channingfrye) December 5, 2024
Wednesday marked the first time all season that Davis finished a contest with single digits in points. All in all, he’s been an incredibly dependable scorer for the Lakers since the start of the campaign, as he’s averaging more points than he’s ever had in a purple and gold uniform with 26.9 per game.
Davis’ lackluster scoring performance seemingly couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time for the Lakers, as the team is reeling after it got off to a scorching start to the campaign. Los Angeles has lost three of its last four contests, and the squad owns a record of just 4-6 over its past 10 games.
Los Angeles now doesn’t even own a top-eight seed in the Western Conference standings. The Lakers sit as the No. 9 seed in a conference that’s seemingly filled to the brim with competitive teams, as 11 of the 15 squads own records above the .500 mark.
Davis will attempt to get back on the right track from a scoring standpoint when the Lakers face off against a red-hot Atlanta Hawks squad on Friday night. The Hawks are on a five-game winning streak and just recently snapped the Milwaukee Bucks’ winning streak at seven games on Wednesday behind a big game from forward Jalen Johnson, who contributed 23 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
