Anthony Davis is tired of losing.
The defending champion Lakers were favored by many to repeat this season, and even the sportsbooks listed them as sizable chalk. But the reality is that they stink right now, currently sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference, with a paltry 36-26 record. If not for a solid start, there’s actually a possibility they could’ve missed the playoffs altogether.
But Anthony Davis, and, at some point, LeBron James, aren’t going to let that happen.
AD returned to the court from a near-two-month hiatus four games ago, and while the Lakers have been cautiously increasing his minutes, he’s inching closer to midseason form.
And then there’s James, who knows all about going through the motions in the regular season, then getting healthy and flipping the switch into hyperdrive in the playoffs. It’s unclear if he can still do that at age 36, but he is “close” to returning from injury, according to Dennis Schroder.
So where does that leave the Lakers, with only 10 regular-season games remaining?
If you ask Davis, the previous two — against the hapless Magic and Wizards — were must-win scenarios.
“We control our own destiny,” Davis said, via Yardbarker. “We have to start playing with a sense of desperation. Even though we are in the playoffs as of right now, we’re not that far up from being in the play-in game. So we gotta play with a sense of desperation.”
He continued:
“I think we’ve got like 12 games before the playoffs, so these last 12 are going to be crucial for us, so we’ve got to be able to get some wins.
“Orlando and D.C. are must-wins for us, for sure.” he said.
We totally agree with him. It’s time for the champs to stop playing with their food and flip the switch.
