Los Angeles Lakers: Is this the end of a championship era?

LeBron James: Past his prime?

It’s fascinating how many fans on social media are now throwing dirt on LeBron’s grave. Even many in the mainstream media have written or broadcast that James is no longer anything special and has become merely an “ordinary” player.

The fact is that through mid-March LeBron was having a typically superb season and was being mentioned as a serious MVP candidate. Then Solomon Hill decided to lunge across James’ legs to pursue a loose ball. The resulting high ankle sprain knocked LeBron completely out of action until nearly May, and he was never the same player the rest of the season.

A high ankle sprain can happen to any player regardless of his age. It is not an injury resulting from wear and tear. While it’s possible that a younger player might have healed more quickly, high ankle sprains are notorious for taking months to return to normal.

In the playoffs against Phoenix, James estimated that he was playing at 85%, which was probably an over-statement. It was obvious that his ability to drive to the hoop and elevate was severely restricted. LeBron launched 48 three-point shots and 47 two-point attempts, which vividly illustrates how much he was limited.

Now LBJ has a full four months to rest, rehabilitate and prepare for next season. Do you think he just might be a tad motivated to excel next year? Of course, he’ll turn age 37, and we can’t predict what new physical challenges he’ll encounter, but it’s not as if he’s trying to recover from a ruptured Achilles or torn ACL.

It is a relatively safe bet that next season LeBron James will once again be among the league’s top players.

Anthony Davis: Injury-prone and Soft?

How quickly we forget. In the 2020 playoffs, AD was a warrior. He averaged 27.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 3.5 assists per game. He shot 57% from the field, including 42% from beyond the arc, and 83% from the free-throw line. Did anyone label him soft then?

So what happened? Why is it that fans and former NBA players are calling him out now? How did he become so brittle mere months after he was a primary reason the Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 championship?

The major culprit was the shortest offseason in the history of North American professional sports. AD didn’t get the time he needed between seasons to rest, recuperate and work himself back into basketball shape for the new season.

At 6-10, 250, Davis doesn’t depend on raw power to excel. Compare his game with that of teammate Andre Drummond, who’s the same height but 30 pounds heavier. Drummond uses his size and strength to overwhelm smaller opponents.

But Davis relies on a combination of finesse, mobility and agility that few others his size possess. In essence, he’s like a finely-tuned sports car maneuvering around hulking SUVs. However, when he isn’t at full strength physically, especially when his legs are out of whack, AD’s effectiveness wanes.

Since few opponents can match up with Davis, teams typically assign their strongest big man to guard him. The strategy is to muscle him as much as possible. It’s a “beat him up and wear him down” approach.

Those tactics seldom work in the short run and were unsuccessful last year in stopping AD. But when the season ended, Davis was physically exhausted and needed time to wind down before ramping back up. However, the abnormally quick turnaround didn’t allow enough time for that.

In retrospect, perhaps AD should have returned when the new season began. Maybe he should have said that he wasn’t physically ready yet and would wait until he was back in game shape to start playing again.

But think of what a field day the naysayers would have had then! So Davis tried to tough it out and start the new season on time. His left leg, however, rebelled. Except for brief stretches AD seldom looked like the same dominant player he was last year because of his ankle, his calf, or his groin.

Do you think it’s a coincidence that last year’s finalists, the Lakers and Miami, were each eliminated in the first round this year? Their players had the shortest offseason of anyone. Heat star Jimmy Butler had his lowest scoring average since 2013-14.

Last season’s Eastern Conference finalist Boston Celtics also lost in round one this year. Even though Western Conference finalist Denver lost star Jamal Murray they still survived against Portland but got swept by Phoenix in round two. So none of last season’s Final Four teams won a second-round game this year.

More injuries to star players than ever before occurred in the NBA this season. Some other big names who missed at least 25% of their team’s games this season included Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Donovan Mitchell, Michael Conley, Kristaps Porzingis, CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, Klay Thompson, Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell and John Wall. And that’s just in the West!

Eastern Conference stars who were MIA for long stretches included Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Derrick Rose, Victor Oladipo, Goran Dragic, Danilo Gallinari, Gordon Hayward, Kemba Walker, Kyle Lowry, Kevin Love and Butler. Plus all-star Jaylen Brown missed the playoffs.

Nearly every contending team was impacted by injury. But most of the players listed above had recovered enough to be at full strength for the postseason. The only team with two stars still at well under 100% was, unfortunately, the Lakers.

Speaking of Anthony Davis, in his first six NBA seasons with New Orleans he averaged 68 games a season. That might not be Iron Man-like, but it isn’t horrendous. Like that sports car, he needs a tune-up more often than most. But it wasn’t until this past season that injuries caused him to stay in the garage and miss 50% of his team’s games.

Mark Twain once famously wrote after his obituary was published that “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” Similar thoughts can be expressed about both Davis and James. As with LeBron, with four full months off between seasons, the expectation should be that AD will come back strong for the Lakers in 2021-22.