“Giannis has surpassed him, Joel Embiid has surpassed him, Jokic has surpassed him” Richard Jefferson urges that it a ‘Now-or-never time’ for Anthony Davis to protect his legacy in 2022-23
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Richard Jefferson slams Anthony Davis
The Los Angeles Lakers was undoubtedly the most scrutinized team of the 2021-22 season, as Richard Jefferson had another go at Anthony Davis today. Having being bundled with veterans in the form of Davis, Russel Westbrook and King James himself, players who have contributed in the league for years for different franchises. The Lakers were deemed to be one of the championship contenders, yet the reality was totally the opposite as the 17-times world champions failed to even make it into the postseason. The Lakers looked scary on paper, not so much on court, as they get to grips with their disastrous season and look for inspiration to fire up their star players to perform at the highest level.
The 2021-22 NBA season did not go as planned for the Basketball giants In Los Angeles. Boasting a star-studded lineup, with One of the All-Time Greats, LeBron James himself, and two future Hall of Famers in Anthony Davis and freshly traded, Russell Westbrook, the Lakers failed when it mattered the most. They started the season poorly and didn’t seem to take games seriously until after the All-Star break. There seemed to be a lack of urgency among the players in general, coupled with all the injuries, they never developed any rhythm throughout the season.
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“Last two years for the Lakers and for Anthony Davis have been sad” Richard Jefferson slams AD for underperforming
Lebron James has been heavily criticized for the bleak performances of the Lakers in 2021-22 season, the second-most criticized player, arguably, is Anthony Davis. The Lakers Nation has been lashing at him for being responsible about the mess the Lakers are in, and ESPN Sports Analyst, Richard Jefferson has joined the party. Lakers had won the NBA Championship just 2 years ago in 2020, under the supervision of the head coach, Frank Vogel, and now they missed the playoffs entirely in 2021-22.
On ESPN’s ‘NBA Today’, Richard Jefferson stated that he believes Anthony Davis is the player under the most pressure for the next season, as he has hasn’t been able to contribute to the team. He believes that AD is not the same beast we saw him as, when he first came to Los Angeles, and has now been surpassed by other Star Players such as Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic.
“When he Anthony Davis left the bubble, it was, ‘He’s a top-five player and we need to see how long it’s gonna take for him to become the best player in the league. Since then, Giannis has surpassed him, Joel Embiid has surpassed him, Jokic has surpassed him. The Lakers have just regressed every single year.
“We know he’s not this mean, overly aggressive player, but we need to see the aggressive version on Anthony Davis this year because that’s the Lakers. So, to me, there is no player out there that if everyone is looking at because the last two years for the Lakers and for Anthony Davis have been sad.” Jefferson explained how Anthony Davis will have a target at his back next year to churn out some performances which remind people why he’s an 8-time All Star.
Once Davis went down with an MCL Sprain the Lakers had only the aging Dwight Howard for size, the next biggest player was the 6′8″ Lebron James and a similar-sized Carmelo Anthony. The team looked dependent on the play of Anthony Davis, a player with a history of injuries. Instead of putting personnel in place to take some of the pressure from AD, they got rid of basically all their big & key men such as Kuzma, KCP, and Caruso which put AD in a position where he was more likely to be injured, as the season went downhill for the Lakers.
After winning the 2020 championship, Davis endured several injuries which sidelined him for long stretches. Davis has played in only 76 games in the last two seasons out of a potential 154. A dysfunctional team, poor decision making, lack of rhythm, and good players to fill in roles, all these factors led to the Lakers having a record of 33-49 in 2021-22 and crashing out of the playoff. They would rather forget this season and start afresh, as for Anthony Davis, its only a matter of time before he shuts his critics down, hopefully !
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Aditya Minocha
(216 Articles Published)