Anthony Davis opened up on the Lakers mentality after they fell down 0-3 to the Nuggets with a Game 3 loss, their 11th-straight loss to the franchise. He emphasized the need to get one win in their bag before worrying about anything else.
“Our focus and our mental right now is to get one. Try to get a win and go from there... However many straight, we can’t focus on that. Our focus is to try to get better from tonight, learn from our mistakes, and try to get a win on Saturday. Can't do anything about it, what's in the past.”
(Starts at 2:48)
It's hard to see what the Lakers can do differently next game which would enable them to get a win in this series. They've played great basketball in these three games, but the Nuggets have played excellent basketball.
Anthony Davis has been sensational, averaging xxx. However, there is a mysterious second-half drop-off for Davis where he seems to be taken out of most prepared actions and is essentially a role-player on offense. Maybe a big second half from Davis can be the difference-maker.
It's been a competitive series to watch, though the script has been the same. Lakers take a lead in the first half, the Nuggets make a third-quarter comeback, and then put the Lakers away in the fourth. Coaching could have tweaked the margins enough for LA to pick up one win, but it seems the roster no longer has faith in their head coach.
Anthony Davis And The Lakers Coaching Staff Openly Disagreed On Strategy
After the Lakers inexplicably blew a 20-point lead in the second half of Game 2, Anthony Davis openly revealed it felt like they were playing without a plan.
We have stretches where we just don't know what we're doing on both ends of the floor and those the ones that cost us."
Naturally, the coaching staff didn't take kindly to this. Darvin Ham publicly disagreed with Davis.
"I just think sometimes the plays don't turn out the way they should've, the frustration sets in a little bit. I don't think it's about us not being organized. I have incredibly valuable coaches on my staff and we pride ourselves, whether it's in practice, games, or shoot-around, on being highly efficient and organized. I'll just chalk that up to being frustrated. It's an emotional game with the way it ended and all of that but I'll agree to disagree on that one."
It's also been said that Davis' comments have upset people internally, as AD not backing Ham could ultimately force the front office's hand in making a coaching change, according to reputed insider Jared Greenberg.
"From speaking with people within the Lakers' organization, they were upset and disappointed quite frankly by AD's comments and publicly putting his coach out there like that especially since the Lakers had a good enough understanding of the gameplan to take a 20-point lead."
Fans have been sharing videos of frosty exchanges between Davis and Ham to use as proof of friction between the star player and the coach. The Lakers seemed to be set on keeping Ham around next season after refusing to fire him earlier this season, but a lack of support from Davis could change plans.
The Lakers have earmarked Davis as the future of the franchise, giving him a max extension last summer while LeBron's future is undecided. Ultimately, Davis is going to be the star of this team and if he can't get along with his coach, it's a major problem.
More must-reads: