Los Angeles Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis have suffered a fair amount of injuries over the past couple of seasons.
James is even dealing with one right now, and he has only played in six of the team’s 14 games so far this season.
Former Lakers guard Alex Caruso, who signed with the Chicago Bulls last offseason, recently spoke about Los Angeles’ 2020-21 campaign, where the team lost in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs to the Phoenix Suns.
He mentioned that he wasn’t sure if James or Davis ever got back to full strength after the team’s title run in 2020 while also saying that the four-time MVP was better at “hiding” his injuries.
“We couldn’t get healthy and part of that was the quick turnaround (from the bubble), too,” Caruso told The Athletic’s Bill Oram. “Like, I don’t think AD ever really got back to full strength after the Finals run. I don’t even know if Bron did. He did a better job of hiding it.”
Both James and Davis missed considerable time last season as the Lakers finished the regular season with a record of 42-30, which was good enough for the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. The Suns dispatched the Lakers in six games in the playoffs.
Injuries have always been a concern with Davis. Prior to joining the Lakers in 2018, James hadn’t dealt with that many injuries over the course of his career. Now, some even believe that James is becoming injury-prone.
If the Lakers are going to have any chance of winning their second title in a span of three seasons, they’re going to need Davis and James to be fully healthy.
L.A. is currently 8-6 on the season after defeating the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. The team will hope to get another win on Monday against Caruso and the Bulls.
