Last season, the Los Angeles Lakers hobbled their way to the playoffs, where they lost to the Phoenix Suns in six games.
Lakers superstar Anthony Davis suffered a groin injury in the series against the Suns. In the Lakers’ two wins in the series, Davis averaged 34.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 steal and 2.0 blocks per game.
It’s clear that Davis’ injury was one of the major reasons why the Lakers wound up losing the series.
This series before Anthony Davis injury:
— Suns 350
— Lakers 358Since Anthony Davis injury:
— Suns 274
— Lakers 227 pic.twitter.com/RgLFeGB1IE— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 4, 2021
Many have wondered what would have happened had Davis not gotten hurt. Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso, who was on the Lakers last season, made it clear that he believes L.A. would’ve won with a healthy Davis.
“If A.D. is healthy I think we beat Phoenix in the first round,” Caruso told The Athletic’s Bill Oram.
During the 2020-21 campaign, the Lakers had to deal with injuries to both Davis and LeBron James. The team was only able to amass a 42-30 record during the regular season, which earned them the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and a tough matchup with the Suns in the first round.
L.A. had certainly been hoping to win their second straight title, but Davis’ injury really put a dent in those chances.
This season, Davis has played in every single game for the Lakers. However, James has only played in six of the team’s 14 games. He seems to be close to returning to game action.
If the Lakers want to win their second title in a span of three seasons, they’re going to have to make sure that they are fully healthy once the postseason rolls around.
