NBA: Anthony Davis’ health key for LA Lakers, who had ‘as good a summer as anyone’ – Reggie Miller and Jamal Crawford
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Updated 18/10/2023 at 17:19 GMT
The LA Lakers were brutally swept aside in the NBA Western Conference Finals by the Denver Nuggets, who went on to beat Miami in the finals, but five-time All-Star Reggie Miller has said that he believes they have had as good an off-season as anyone. Both he and Jamal Crawford think that the health of Anthony Davis is absolutely vital for the Lakers as they look to challenge for another title.
The new NBA season is coming - and it's everyone's game
Ahead of the new NBA season, Reggie Miller believes the health of Anthony Davis is critical for the LA Lakers because he is “a top 10, top 15 type player”, whilst Jamal Crawford thinks the team have had “as good a summer as anyone”.
The TNT Sports analysts were speaking on a media call to preview the upcoming campaign and were asked for their thoughts on both the Lakers and the Clippers.
Miller said that whilst he likes some of the moves that the Lakers have made, it ultimately comes down to Davis’ health.
He did point out that he feels it’s a similar situation to the Clippers as they need their two superstars, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, to both be healthy as well.
“It will always be around Anthony Davis and the help. If he’s healthy, they'll be in it because they'll be able to rest LeBron and LeBron doesn't have to do so much," Miller said.
“I think that Christian Wood was a great pick-up because I do believe that Darvin Ham will get the best out of that young man. D’Angelo Russell has to be better, he was terrible in the play-offs, if you remember.
“Austin Reaves signs the big deal, he's going to be the X Factor for them, but you know, to me, the Lakers and Clippers are in the same boat, it all comes down to help, and help to their key players.
"LeBron was 21st, 22nd season so, that's long in the tooth. They’ve got to find ways to rest him, but Anthony Davis has to be healthy and these are the same conversations to me like Kawhi.
“68-74 [games], if he plays that range, the Lakers are in it because when he's playing and he's healthy, he's a top 10, top 15 type player, but if he misses time, the Lakers are in trouble. You can't rely on LeBron like you used to.
"So if AD is healthy, if Kawhi and PG are healthy, they're in the mix. If I'm Phoenix or Denver come play-off time and one or both of them are in the semi-finals or conference finals, I’d be worried.”
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Anthony Davis #3 and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers look on during the preseason game on October 11, 2023 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Image credit: Getty Images
Crawford echoed Miller’s statement, reckoning the Lakers had a strong off-season combined with them figuring some things out in the back half of last season.
He also thinks it is noteworthy that LeBron came out and gave Davis the public endorsement as the leader of the team.
Crawford said: “On the Lakers’ side, you can make an argument that they had as good a summer as anybody. I think what they figured out was how they played the second half of last season, is how they're going to go going into this season.
"I thought something that was underrated was that LeBron actually came out physically and mentally and said, 'AD is the guy'.
“Now he may have told AD that behind closed doors. But you can tell when LeBron was playing last year with AD, he just kind of took a backseat at times.
“But with him now saying, 'hey you're the guy, I'll take a step back'. I think that's going to free AD immensely, almost how Dwayne Wade freed LeBron in Miami when he came and said 'no this is the guy' and LeBron was free to just go and be him. If Anthony be that and be healthy, then the Lakers are going to be a tough out as well.
“They had as good a summer as anybody and I’m excited to see all teams stay healthy because it could be a crazy, crazy play-offs.”
The Lakers will kick-off the new NBA season when they face off against defending champions Denver Nuggets in an opening night double-header.
You can watch that game, as well as the second match-up between the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors, live on TNT Sports and discovery+ in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Throughout the 2023-24 season, TNT Sports will also air more than 40 weekend games in primetime as part of “NBA Saturdays and NBA Sundays”, which feature games starting as early as 6pm UK time. discovery+ will become the streaming home of the NBA in the UK by offering live and on-demand coverage of all games and programming included in the agreement.
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TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media
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