Things were looking pretty good for the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night but, like before, they slipped up and suffered another avoidable loss.
Their defeat at the hands of the New York Knicks puts them back in 11th place in the Western Conference and therefore just outside of play-in tournament contention.
Following their heartbreaking 112-108 loss, NBA analyst Skip Bayless unloaded on one player in particular: Anthony Davis.
Bayless was on Twitter on Sunday night, letting his opinion be known:
“Terrible home loss for the Lakers. AD failed to foul early in final Knicks possession. AD failed to get to the line much (only 5 free throws) and made only ONE FREE THROW. AD failed to take this game over the way he should have – former Laker Josh Hart ended it w 2 FTs. Ug.”
Terrible home loss for the Lakers. AD failed to foul early in final Knicks possession. AD failed to get to the line much (only 5 free throws) and made only ONE FREE THROW. AD failed to take this game over the way he should have – former Laker Josh Hart ended it w 2 FTs. Ug.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 13, 2023
Although Davis scored 17 points and 16 rebounds in the team’s loss, Bayless feels that he didn’t do enough to carry his team to victory.
It is true that he only made one of his free throws.
He was also not the most consequential player on his team, as D’Angelo Russell had another strong performance and scored a team-high 33.
Even though Davis wasn’t as dominant as he usually is, the Lakers could have still pulled out a victory – recent history shows that’s true.
Just a few nights before, Davis was good for just 8 points but the Lakers were still able to beat the Toronto Raptors.
So, while Bayless may have been right that Davis wasn’t as strong as expected, that is no reason for the Lakers’ latest failure.
LA will try to bounce back from this painful loss on Tuesday, as they face off against the New Orleans Pelicans, who currently share their exact same win-loss record of 33-35.
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