Although the Lakers' big victory over the Thunder in the absence of the main player ended the eight-game losing streak, in the early end of the playoffs, the winning also lost its meaning, and it is certain that the Lakers are about to make a big purge of the existing lineup in the offseason.
It is no exaggeration to say that even James is not unshakable, because his historical task in Los Angeles has been completed, and now the only thing the Lakers have to consider is how to re-establish a healthy lineup and achieve sustainable development in the future.
In the face of this rainy environment, Davis, who has been on the injury list for a long time this season, recently made a public statement, saying in an interview: "If I don't have an injury, the Lakers can't enter the playoffs, you can blame me, it's my fault!" But I can't control whose feet I'll land on or who will hit my legs. ”
It can be seen that Davis does not think that the Lakers' failure this season is his own reason, because he can't play at all, the team is led by James and Westbrook most of the time, and the injury is an accident and an irresistible factor, beyond his control, the implication is that the Lakers management can not assign a part of the responsibility to him because of the poor record.
In fact, this is not the first time that the thick eyebrow brother has "greeted" the Lakers management in advance, after when the reporter asked him whether he thought the team would trade himself, he clearly expressed that he liked Los Angeles, and the Lakers should not trade themselves.
At that time, when the veteran Ariza was cut, Wei Shao was also on the cusp of the storm, and the thick eyebrow brother constantly showed loyalty to the Lakers and frantically shirked responsibility, all so that the team could keep itself and reduce the risk of being affected by the "big earthquake" in the offseason.
This season, because of minor injuries, the thick eyebrow brother only played 40 games, averaging 23.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, although slightly stronger than last season, but compared with the peak of his career, there is still a big decline, because the team has James and Westbrook two big ball holders, the thick eyebrow brother's round share is only 26.3%, ranking 40th in the league, the tactical position is not high.
You know, when he won the championship in 2020, Davis was once considered to be the top five superstars in the league, and his momentum and wind evaluation also exceeded the two MVP alphabet brothers, but he did not expect to be only two seasons later, but now he can't even keep the position of the second person on the team, not to mention a 28-year-old future leader, even ordinary young players are difficult to accept such a reality.
But objectively speaking, even if the injury absence is not the fault of the thick eyebrow brother himself, the physical fragility is the original sin he has to admit, on the ability, he is indeed not much worse than the popular letter brother and Embiid, on the body, he really can not tear off the label of "glass man", after all, even the nearly 40-year-old James can still do the sprained ankle after stomping on the foot to re-play.
On the other hand, the thick eyebrow brother in the past two years has not let everyone see the dominance matching the talent, but there has been a big decline in the data, in the eyes of the management, he is likely to be considered to have touched the ceiling of the career, whether the future can support the team alone also needs to put a question mark, no one wants to use the high salary to raise a star who cannot play.
To take an inappropriate example, the current thick eyebrow brother is like a middle-level manager who has a certain ability in the workplace and hopes to get a high enough status, but cannot afford to bear the corresponding responsibilities, James has always been the umbrella of the Lakers in recent years, and Davis has never really shown the temperament and determination of the core leader, if James has more than enough and insufficient strength, he can't shoulder the burden of the team boss for a day, then he can't become a real "team non-seller" for a day.