After a disappointing second season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Davis is on a mission this year. The big man is trying to relive old glories and take this squad to the NBA championship as he did in the infamous Orlando bubble.
The Lakers have assembled a terrific team for this season, but things haven't clicked between them just yet. They need to build chemistry and form a solid squad to compete for the title next year.
Even though the first two games of the season didn't go in their favor, and the second one saw AD going at it with Dwight Howard, the team's hopes remain untouched. Recently, former Lakers guard Michael Cooper explained Davis's importance for the Lakers, urging him to play like an MVP to lead the squad to the promised land.
“Now if you remember when the Lakers were in the bubble, they had Howard and JaVale McGee. Anthony Davis didn’t have to play all those big minutes. Go out and be the players he’s supposed to be. I think he’s been put back into that situation. You don’t have to 38-40-45 mins. He needs to be the superstar the Lakers need to win,” Cooper said, as transcribed by Essentially Sports.
“He can get away to playing 60-65 games with some rest in between and that’s the luxury that the Lakers have. Anthony Davis will be the best player out there. When he’s on the court, he creates more problems than any player in the league other than Durant.”
“Anthony Davis needs to be an MVP player. Because if everybody does their job and he does what he’s supposed to be the MVP player, Lakers cannot be beaten.”
This season presents plenty of challenges for the Lakers. Regardless of how good their team looks on paper, the rest of the league made moves to beat them. It remains to be seen if that's enough for the West, but the Lakers struggling right now is a good thing for rivals.
Still, once they find their touch, it'll be tough to beat them. AD is trying to adapt to his new role, Russell Westbrook is trying to find his spot on the team; LeBron James keeps doing his thing, but that's not how you win a championship. Cooper already explained what the team needs to do. Now the Lakers must show they have what it takes to take the 18th NBA ring.
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