The 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers will go down as one of the biggest disappointments in NBA history. The LeBron James-Anthoy Davis-Russell Westbrook Big 3 was a failure the size of the Crypto.com Arena.
Davis and James urged Rob Pelinka not to trade for Buddy Hield and pursue Westbrook instead. They filled the remaining roster spots with aging veterans and former Lakers but it never panned out.
Now, the Lakers are at serious risk of not even making the playoffs, finishing the season way below .500. But even despite their lacking efforts on both ends of the floor, Anthony Davis blames injuries for the poor outcome of the season.
NBA News: Anthony Davis Blames Injuries For The Lakers' Season
"What could we have been if I was healthy all year, LeBron, Kendrick Nunn? You think about those things," Davis said. "When we put this team together, we looked really good on paper, but we haven't had a chance to reach that potential with guys being in and out of the lineup."
Lakers Assistant Coach Predicted This Could Happen
It's not like this was a complete shocker. Months ago, Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy claimed that the team needed to find its rhythm and that having big names wouldn't instantly translate to chemistry on the floor:
"Paper doesn't win championships for us," Handy said in August. "Those names that are on that paper, are some phenomenal names... We gotta do our work and make sure we gel. Do we fit?"
"These guys, they gotta figure out ways to play with each other and sacrifice, and let their names take over," the assistant added. "You know, you look at that piece of paper and say, Lakers are loaded, automatic championship. Nah man, we got a lot of work to do in terms of just gelling, finding our rhythm and being able to be cohesive as a unit."
Also, the Lakers went 17-22 in the 39 games Davis was healthy, so it's not like they were rolling when he suited up, either. At the end of the day, there are no excuses for how the season panned out for them.
