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3 reasons to still have faith in the Los Angeles Lakers

By Jason Reed

PORTLAND, OREGON - FEBRUARY 09: LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers jogs back to play defense during the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on February 09, 2022 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - FEBRUARY 09: LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers jogs back to play defense during the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on February 09, 2022 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

2. The Los Angeles Lakers still have LeBron James and Anthony Davis!

Let’s not forget about the center of this team. Granted, Anthony Davis is yet again hurt and he has not been the same Anthony Davis when he was playing this season. But when it all comes down to it, the Lakers have one of the best 1-2 punches in the NBA who when they are firing on all cylinders, are almost impossible to stop.

If the Lakers just get to the playoffs they can try and lower Westbrook’s role with the team and just let LeBron and AD go to work. It allowed the team to win the championship in 2020 and heck, the Lakers were leading the Phoenix Suns two games to one last year and everyone was picking LA to win that series before AD got hurt.

LeBron continues to play elite basketball and we know that he is only going to get better in the playoffs. His offense will remain at an elite level and he will actually start to consistently try on the defensive end, improving the team defense as well.

While the Lakers have statistically been better without Davis this season, he is still one of the hardest players to stop in the league when he is humming. AD has a tendency to not really turn it on in the regular season and preserve his best play for when it matters.

The results have been apparent as Anthony Davis is one of the greatest postseason players in NBA history. Not kidding.

Davis has averaged .234 win shares per 48 minutes in his playoff career. That is the fourth-highest average of all time as he trails just LeBron James (.242), George Mikan (.254) and Michael Jordan (.255).

The Lakers literally have two of the four-best playoff performers of all time. As bad as things look now, you can never rule that out, especially considering…

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