Anthony Davis: Lakers Don’t Resemble A Championship Team

The Lakers have been more up and down than a ride through the Sierra Nevada, and Anthony Davis said they have a long way to go before reaching their championship dreams.

It’s hard to argue, given that the Lakers are coming off a blowout loss to the Timberwolves on Friday. And despite playing more home games than anyone, they enter Sunday’s matchup with the Spurs (also at home) with a very average record of 7-6.

LA was especially bad in the third quarter vs. the Wolves. As Davis noted, that’s been a season-long issue.

“We sucked,” Davis told reporters. “No defense. Can’t score. That’s not just this third quarter, it’s every third quarter we’ve played this season. We come out slow, lackadaisical offensively and defensively. We got to get it together. Why? I can’t tell you. But we got to do a better job.”

As for a title, Davis said that’s not going to be in the cards at the current rate.

“We got to decide who we want to be. A championship team? That’s not us right now,” he said. “We’re not winning a championship the way we’re playing. We got to be better, and we got to care more for our wins at home. Wins in general. That was embarrassing.”

Of course, the Lakers have had to make a go of it lately minus LeBron James, out with an abdominal strain. James turns 37 years old next month, so it’s more important for him to be around at the end than now.

But the rest of the Lakers have been wildly inconsistent, and it’s fair to wonder if point guard Russell Westbrook is even a fit. The fact the Lakers are the oldest team in NBA history may not be helping matters, either. 

So, there’s a lot to consider here.

“If there is one thing the NBA has learned over the past two decades, LeBron’s teams never can be counted out,” wrote Alex Didion of NBC Sports Bay Area. “This veteran-laden team should figure things out at some point, or James and the front office likely will be looking to make some sweeping in-season changes.”

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