With the playoffs in sight, the Los Angeles Lakers need as many wins as they can get. There is very little room for error, as they struggled mightily at the beginning of the season, and they have a lot of ground to make up. Unfortunately, they dropped what should have been an easy game against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.
The Rockets have one of the worst records in the league, but LA decided to rest Anthony Davis for the game. They ultimately paid the price, as they lost to the Rockets. And after the game, D’Angelo Russell sounded off on Davis’ absence and the impact it had.
“He’s a player that demands so much attention,” Russell said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “It’s a lot of gravity that goes his way, and when he’s on the floor, obviously, you get a lot of easier opportunities to capitalize on. And when he’s not, you got to make up for it. When you’re facing a team that switches, no matter what team you’re facing, it makes the offense a little more stagnant. So, it has to be more ball movement, more continuity, more quick hitters, and second and third options. Things like that. So, like I said, we’re a team that’s figured a lot of things out. There are holes in our system right now that, obviously, we’re trying to figure it out. And when we’re not all out there, it’s going to make it hard.”
Russell had a fairly inefficient performance against the Rockets, which definitely contributed to the Lakers’ loss. He finished the night with 18 points, one rebound, and seven assists on 5-of-17 shooting from the field and 3-of-11 shooting from behind the three-point line.
D’Angelo Russell Shows Love to Anthony Davis
For the past few games, Davis has been crucial to the Lakers’ success. In their most recent win over the New Orleans Pelicans, he put up incredible stats, and after the game, Russell showed some serious love for the Lakers big man.
“To answer your question, AD is a monster,” Russell said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “He continues to dominate the games. From defensively or offensively, tonight, he did a little bit of both. So, he continues to help our team. And then our supporting cast was amazing as well. I think that’s what got us over the hump.”
Lakers Receive Crucial Anthony Davis Injury Update
In other news, the Lakers recently received some less-than-stellar injury news regarding Davis’ foot issue that caused him to miss significant time earlier in the season.
“Davis was reevaluated by Lakers medical personnel about two weeks ago after sitting out the second night of a back-to-back against the Oklahoma City Thunder,” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin wrote on March 14. “His right foot, which caused him to miss 20 games earlier in the season because of a stress reaction and a bone spur that fractured off the navicular bone, did not show significant healing, sources told ESPN. The doctors stuck to the same recommendation not to put Davis at risk of a setback from overexposure by participating in back-to-back games.”