- Report: Lakers expected to be in the mix for Blake Griffin
- LeBron James offers ecstatic reaction to David Fizdale leaving Lakers for front office position on Jazz
- Chris Broussard questions John Wall’s decision to sign with the Clippers: ‘I think he would’ve been better off going to the Lakers’
- Report: Lakers coaching staff and front office want to see it work with Russell Westbrook in Los Angeles
- Report: Lakers guard Russell Westbrook will exercise his option for the 2022-23 season
- Report: High-ranking people believe Kyrie Irving joining the Lakers could still be on the table
- Malik Monk says he’s open to taking less money to stay with Lakers
- Report: Kyrie Irving could be willing to sign with Lakers for $6 million mid-level exception
- Report: Lakers are only team eyeing Kyrie Irving via sign-and-trade, but Nets aren’t believed to have interest in available deals
- Report: Sources ‘very’ close to the situation ‘strongly’ believe Kyrie Irving is trying to make his way to the Lakers
Alex Caruso believes Lakers would’ve beaten Suns in 1st round of 2021 playoffs if Anthony Davis had been healthy
- Updated: November 15, 2021

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.