The Los Angeles Lakers now have the possibility of facing the Atlanta Hawks at home on Monday without either of their top two players, as they attempt to hold onto their precarious hold on one of the final play-in berths in the Western Conference.
Due to a corneal abrasion that caused him to leave Saturday’s 128-121 loss to the Golden State Warriors after just one quarter, Lakers forward Anthony Davis is rated as questionable for Monday’s game.
LeBron James, another superstar, is once again marked as questionable due to persistent ankle inflammation. James has been added to the injury report on a regular basis as a precaution.
Since the All-Star break, Los Angeles has been playing well. A week ago, Anthony Davis stated that the Lakers (36-32) can defeat any team “if we play the right way.” At that moment, Davis had just had a 27-point, 25-rebound game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Lakers had won five of their previous seven games.
However, Los Angeles has since dropped its last three games, and after Davis left on Saturday, everything fell apart. After leading 36-30 after one quarter, the Lakers fell down by one point at the half and were outscored 35-27 in the third. After scoring four points in the paint in the first quarter, Golden State scored 58 points in the next three quarters.
t siImply throws off the equilibrium of our team when you lose AD, James remarked. “Now that we have a specific rotation and how we operate in it, our coaching staff has been quite good, so that makes a lot of improvements. You give them your due, Golden State. They performed incredibly well. It’s just difficult when you’re missing a significant piece of the jigsaw.
