NBA: Barely arrived, the new Lakers coach hits Anthony Davis
NBA
Injured for a good part of the season, Anthony Davis was never able to help the Los Angeles Lakers during this more than difficult year. While Frank Vogel has just been replaced by Darvin Ham, the former Pelicans player has already received a strong message from his new coach.
The season of Los Angeles Lakers turned into a fiasco. At the start of this new exercise, the Californian franchise was the favorite for the title with its new trio made up of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, the latest arrival. But the association will never have worked. Apart from LeBron James who has been consistent all season (apart from a few physical glitches), the other two have never been able to wear the Lakers. Between injuries and disappointing performances, Anthony Davis was not much help for the King. Once the season was over, the former player of the Pelicans sent a message to the four-time NBA champion. » I think the two of us can bounce back from all this. We showed we could. I don’t know if it’s something we’ll have to reassess in the offseason with the bosses, or just him and me, but we’ll talk about this season and what we’d like to see next season, and try to figure out a solution. We’re going to come together as a group… to get back to the champion mentality that we had in the first year. So that would be a very interesting conversation, just from the perspective of what’s changed. I mean, injuries changed things, but even when we were healthy, I don’t think we were able to reach our full potential – for some reason. So I think we want to find a solution and get back that champion pedigree that we players know we are capable of. « , told AD in comments relayed by Let’s talk basketball.
Anthony Davis 29 years old: « I haven’t touched a basketball since 2006 » LeBron James (38 years old in December) has already resumed training in New York 🔥 It’s the difference between a champion and a great champion , you can’t buy envy.pic.twitter.com/Lkv3JQ6I0M
— LeBron James Fan 🇨🇵 (@LBJxGoat) June 18, 2022
« When he’s healthy, he’s one of the top 5 or 7 players in our league »
From far away, Anthony Davis therefore attended the coronation of Golden State Warriors. For next season, number 23 of Lakers will start from zero with the ambition to find the heights. At the end of the season, Frank Vogel was thanked, it is Darvin Ham Who took his place. Just arrived, the new coach of the Californians has already warned Russell Westbrook. » With our future style of play, I think Russ, LeBron, AD and even the others, they will be able to share the workload. The thing that I was able to explain to Russ from the beginning, with what I could see in the past, my way of coaching: defense is the foundation of a team. You have to be able to defend at a high level. I challenged Westbrook about it before, and he agreed. This is also part of the word « sacrifice », the one that will often be used. He will also have to be able to move often on the floor, especially when we are in attack. « , dropped Darvin Ham in comments relayed by Let’s talk basketball. Same observation for Anthony Davis who could not avoid criticism from his future coach, in particular on his state of form: » The question of his health is very important as far as he is concerned. When you’re not able to stay healthy, it hinders your progress… The key for him has always been to be available on the pitch. When he’s healthy, he’s one of the top 5 or 7 players in our league. The most important thing is once again to lighten the load « .
