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There are several contenders for the Western Conference looking to ruin the Lakers’ quest for back-to-back titles, but their most formidable foe may be sitting in the Eastern Conference.
Nets acquisition of James Harden in a hit swap earlier this month sent shockwaves throughout the NBA and put them firmly in win-now mode. The trio of Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving give Brooklyn purer offensive firepower than any team in the league, including Los Angeles.
MORE: Rockets’ John Wall takes a not-so-subtle hit at Harden
Rachel Nichols from ESPN recently asked Lakers star Anthony Davis on the major reshuffle and the possibility of meeting the Nets in the NBA Finals. He admitted the game would present tough challenges.
“It’s a threat. They’re definitely a threat,” Davis said. “It’s a team that can score, score at will. It’s a good team, and I think they have been the favorites in the East since. [Harden] went there. So it will be a fun battle. It’s definitely going to be a battle. “
Even putting aside the potential task of stopping the Brooklyn “Big Three”, Davis understands that the path to the Larry O’Brien Trophy will only be more difficult the second time around. Los Angeles has just had the shortest offseason in NBA, NFL, NHL, or MLB history after dominating the Florida bubble in 2020, and Davis knows the Lakers get “everyone’s best shot.” .
“Everyone wants to be a champion,” Davis said. “That’s the hardest part. And now you enjoy – when we were playing it was like, ‘Dude, the warriors are a cheat code. Dude, these guys, they just win. They add players. .But now as champion you go out this year, you really enjoy [it].
“Like, ‘Dude, those guys, that was hard what they did.’ It was very hard to go out and rehearse, and even back when Shaq [O’Neal] and Kobe [Bryant] three times it was hard to see what these guys did, especially when you have that target on your back. “
You can watch Nichols’ full interview with Davis below.
1 on 1 with Anthony Davis: AD will be in a Super Bowl commercial starring Serena Williams, Peyton Manning, and Jimmy Butler – and that’s just her plans for next weekend. Great talk about happiness, the cost of trying to rehearse, and the team he thinks is most Lakers-style: pic.twitter.com/zqcnILdJtd
– Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) January 29, 2021
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