The Los Angeles Lakers lost their latest game against the New York Knicks and analysts are figuring out what went wrong.
They only fell by four points, meaning victory was within reach.
Aside from not having LeBron James, what caused this latest defeat for the Lakers?
Nick Wright thinks the blame lies with Anthony Davis, who seems to have taken a backseat to D’Angelo Russell lately.
“Anthony Davis had been playing great. Then what happened Friday? D’Angelo Russell came back,” Wright said, according to ClutchPoints.
“I’m not blaming this on D’Lo at all… the moment AD doesn’t have to be excellent for the [Lakers] to win it’s like he throttles down a bit,” Wright added.
"Anthony Davis had been playing great. Then what happened Friday? D'Angelo Russell came back. I'm not blaming this on D'Lo at all… the moment AD doesn't have to be excellent for the [Lakers] to win it's like he throttles down a bit."
— Nick Wrightpic.twitter.com/SJinQSQqZi
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 13, 2023
Davis didn’t have a horrible night when playing against the Knicks.
In fact, he scored a double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds.
But those numbers pale in comparison to what Davis has done earlier in the season when he was reaching close to 40 points nightly.
Additionally, they came after Friday’s return of Russell, when Davis scored just 8 points and 9 rebounds in a win against the Toronto Raptors.
Wright isn’t the first person to claim that Davis lessens his load when there are other stars on the roster ready to play.
Davis himself wasn’t happy with his performance on Sunday, lamenting that he didn’t do his job before vowing to do better.
He will have his chance to do that on Tuesday, as the Lakers face off against the New Orleans Pelicans.
That will be a pivotal game because both the Lakers and Pelicans have 33-35 records, which means they are battling for their chance to make the playoffs.
If Davis really does want to show that he can play excellently, no matter how much support he does or does not have, Tuesday night will be his best chance.
NEXT: LeBron James Teases His Upcoming Return
