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NBA Hall of Famer Instructs Lakers’ Anthony Davis to Do More Regarding His Injury Management

Published 06/08/2021, 7:00 AM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

The Lakers fans are still absorbing the way the Phoenix Suns sent LeBron James and Anthony Davis packing. One can blame this on the injuries, but the fact is, the Suns were a better team at handling their health, and that bore fruit. 

During that forgetful week where the Lakers lost three games in a row, AD had to come out and take the blame on himself. However, given the kind of leader that LeBron is, he called it a team game and argued that they could still win. However, the Lakers succumbed to underperformance without AD and nothing really helped. So what went wrong?

Kevin Garnett gives his opinion on the matter

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One must remember how NBA on TNT host Charles Barkley had tagged Anthony Davis as “Street Clothes” prior to Game 6. There was even a lot of conversation and many memes making fun of Dennis Schroder in the Lakers jersey scoring as many points as AD in his street clothes.

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In a recent interview, sportscaster Dan Patrick asked Kevin Garnett if Big Chuck’s comments forced The Brow to show up in Game 6. Notably, AD was yet not fit and his groin was still sore when he entered the last match, and he left within a minute. 

Considering all this, Kevin said, “If that was the case, and you cared about any of this then, I felt like he would have come out with a better [indiscernible]. You would’ve known in warmups if he could’ve gone or not, that’s one. Then two, I don’t think the young fella is actually, I think he hears it, but this is all about doing something for yourself. He has to take another level of improving his body. Let’s just keep this real.”

Clearly, the 15x All-Star has a point. It’s obvious that AD must’ve known that he could not make any lateral moves with a groin injury. So why show up and risk bigger trouble?

‘Worst Doctors’: Charles Barkley Slams Lakers’ Medical Staff After Anthony Davis’ Fiasco During Playoffs

What’s ahead for Lakers’ Anthony Davis?

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As of now, the only update on AD’s near future is that he might miss out on the Tokyo Olympics. Just like the ASG 2021, the star might want to stay away from the Olympics to get back in shape. 

USA Today via Reuters

He is committed to representing the Laker Show until 2024-25 and would want to win at least one more ring with Bron by his side. For that, The Brow will have to do better injury management because the inconsistency is reflecting poorly on his numbers. In the 2020-21 regular season, the star forward averaged a seven-year low at 21.8 ppg, and in the postseason, he could not even touch an 18 ppg average. 

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AD has certainly helped the Lakers become a defensive giant, but with a deteriorating offense, nothing would help. So how do you see AD’s future? Can he make a championship-worthy comeback? 

Watch this story – Best Teammates of LeBron James in His Career

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Written by:

Sourabh Singh

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Sourabh Singh is an NBA sports analyst for EssentiallySports, who has been working with the site since May 2020. Prior to this, he functioned as Managing Editor at WittyFeed, followed by a stint at Decathlon. The Sports Management graduate leads an active lifestyle, veering to the mountains for off-trail adventures.
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