The Los Angeles Lakers laid another dud against the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, although the loss is not really what grabbed headlines after the game.
Towards the end of the second quarter when the Lakers were in the midst of a poor stretch of play, Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard got in an argument on the bench that led to a couple of shoves being exchanged between the teammates.
While getting in a physical altercation in front of thousands of people is never ideal, Howard made sure to note after the game that he and Davis immediately squashed their beef and it was nothing more than two frustrated teammates going at it.
Davis also commented on the incident, explaining that it was caused by a missed defensive coverage.
“Just a pick and roll, that was it. All of us trying to figure out defense,” Davis said. “Something happened, I was saying one thing, he was saying another. One thing led to another. We talked about it, and we left it in the locker room at halftime.”
Davis also confirmed that he and Howard sorted out their differences, although what the conversation entailed will remain in the Lakers locker room.
“In house, what we do in the locker room and what we say, we keep it to ourselves. After the situation, me and DH [Dwight Howard] talked about it, and we left it at that.”
Davis concluded that the frustration comes from the Lakers’ rough play on the court. “We got two guys, very competitive, just want to win games.”
Frank Vogel discusses incident between Howard and Davis
After the game, Frank Vogel explained why he’s not concerned about Davis and Howard’s relationship moving forward after the incident.
“Dwight and AD had a miscue on a coverage and they talked it out. But when you’re getting your ass kicked, sometimes those conversations get heated. But those love each other, they talked it out and that’s gonna happen from time to time. I’d rather our guys care than not care,” Vogel said after the contest.
While it’s clear that the Lakers need to make some adjustments to be better as a team moving forward, maybe a scuffle like this could be what it takes to get them moving in the right direction. If not though, then it may be looked at as the beginning of th downfall of the 2021-22 Lakers.
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