After the Lakers continued their free fall from play-in tournament contention with a sixth straight loss on Sunday, Anthony Davis looked back at a season gone awry.
The biggest thing that I think about is what we could have been, if we stayed healthy all year, said Davis, who has missed 39 of L.A.'s 78 games because of various injuries. Guys think about what could have been if they were healthy all year. We put this team together and it looked good on paper, but we haven't had a chance to reach that potential with guys in and out of the lineup.
The most frustrating part of this season is not knowing what we could have been.
The San Antonio Spurs increased their lead for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference after their win over Portland on Sunday. If the Spurs win their season series against the Lakers, L.A. would have to gain three games on them by the end of the season.
The Denver game was the second game for Davis since mid-February due to a right midfoot injury and he was forced to leave the game in the first quarter and receive treatment on the sideline. As far as the chance of the Lakers catching the Spurs goes, Davis vowed to play through pain as the regular season comes to a close with road games in Phoenix on Tuesday, Golden State on Thursday, back home Friday against Oklahoma City and a road finale in Denver on Sunday.
The medical staff of the Lakers told Davis that he could not get any worse.
James missed Sunday's game with an ankle injury. It is unlikely that James will be able to play against the Suns, but he will be able to give it a go in the next 48 hours, according to a source familiar with his status.
Without James, L.A. made a game of it against the Nuggets until the fourth quarter, when Jokic scored 10 of his 38 points.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel said that it sucks. Good work. It is not fun, but it could be worse. It is easy to understand. The group has stayed together. They are putting up a good fight. Their attitude has been great and they are working together to get this right. It is disappointing to come in and say we fell short.
Russell Westbrook had an efficient game with 27 points on 11-for-15 shooting, 10 rebound, 7 assists and 2 steals in the loss. It was his 77th appearance out of 78 games, giving him one constant to a team that has 39 different starting lineups this season.
The Spurs have a home game against Golden State on Saturday and a road game against Dallas on Sunday.
There are no moral victories in this league. The whole world wants to see us lose. My job is to help these guys win and I think our spirit is very high in the locker room and we are going to continue to fight.
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