Though the 2021 NBA Finals are over — with the Milwaukee Bucks winning the title — many what-ifs regarding other teams that dealt with injuries have been prevalent.
The Los Angeles Lakers, who were the defending champions, had aspirations of repeating until the Phoenix Suns came back to take the first-round series.
Los Angeles held a 2-1 series lead after three games, but the situation reversed after Anthony Davis suffered two lower-leg injuries.
Davis suffered a knee sprain in Game 3 but played through the pain in Game 4; however, he took a hard fall in Game 4 and suffered a groin strain.
From that moment, the balance of power tilted toward Phoenix, which blew out the Lakers in the final games of the series.
Though it’ll never be known how the series would’ve played out with a healthy Davis, Metta World Peace believes the Lakers would’ve advanced. He made the declaration when discussing his thoughts on the Bucks-Suns matchup and Giannis Antetokounmpo being a great player, via Chris Sheridan of BasketballNews.com:
“Now imagine, Giannis, one of the greatest players in the league, doesn’t really have to go up against the greatest team, then you would say Giannis was going to win. Because the Lakers got hurt. The Lakers were going to beat Phoenix before Anthony Davis got hurt.”
World Peace, also known as Metta Sandiford-Artest, played for the Lakers from 2009-2013 and won a championship with the team in 2010, so it’s reasonable for him to believe in the Lakers.
Still, the Suns didn’t have much of an answer for Davis when he bounced back from a disappointing Game 1, and even though the Lakers struggled to hit perimeter shots with Davis, they looked poised enough to overcome those struggles and live another series.
With the disappointing first-round exit now behind the Lakers, the critical focus going forward is assembling a stronger roster through the NBA draft and free agency, each occurring within this week.
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