5 things the Los Angeles Lakers must improve on with Anthony Davis out
By Robert Marvi
About two months into the 2020-21 NBA season, the defending world champion Los Angeles Lakers have encountered their first real dose of adversity this year.
The All-NBA performer is expected to miss at least four weeks of action due to a calf strain and a reaggravation of an existing Achilles tendinosis ailment, although he could quite possibly miss much more time than that. According to reports, the Lakers will be conservative with managing Davis and deciding when he returns to action.
Needless to say, when a superstar is injured, it creates many holes for his team, especially when said superstar is a demon on both ends of the court like Davis is.
As of this writing, the Lakers have lost back-to-back games to the Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat. Overall, they have lost three of their last four games.
Prior to that, L.A. had won seven games in a row, but even during that stretch, there were reasons for concern. It struggled to beat inferior teams such as the Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma City Thunder, as it was forced to go to extra periods in three conservative contests.
Truth be told, with a few exceptions, L.A. has not really come close to tapping its full potential so far this season, despite possessing more talent on paper than it did last year.
Now, the so-called compound effect has kicked in, and the Lakers have stopped winning games, leading to the full exposure of their deficiencies.
The once-mighty defending champs now have several areas to shore up while Davis is convalescing if they are to finally put it all together this season.