Anthony Davis Admits Lakers Are 'Probably' Underdogs 'The Way We're Playing'

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis said the team could benefit from taking on an underdog mentality after Thursday night's 108-95 road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Davis, who tallied 22 points and eight rebounds as the Lakers' record fell to 13-13, said their standard of play hasn't lived up to their status as one of the NBA's preseason favorites.

"[Opponents] feel like they're the underdogs when they're coming in, especially when they're without their star players, and we got to play like we're the underdogs," Davis told reporters. "Which now, at this point of the season, the way we're playing, a lot of games, we probably are."

L.A. didn't play terribly against Memphis. It held an advantage in shooting percentage (46.2 to 43.6), knocked down 12 threes on 30 attempts (40 percent) and only narrowly lost the rebounding battle (47-45) against a Grizzlies squad that ranks third in rebound differential this season.

Yet, as has been the case often throughout the early stages of the 2021-22 campaign, the Lakers had one issue rear its ugly head and cost them the game. In this case it was turnovers, as they gave the ball away 22 times, including six turnovers for Russell Westbrook and five for LeBron James.

Los Angeles head coach Frank Vogel said there was "too much casualness to our approach" after a strong opening quarter where it grabbed a 29-25 lead.

"The second quarter was where the energy of the game shifted," Vogel said. "Our turnovers went way up. We didn't rebound the basketball. We were slow to every loose ball."

James added: "Defensively, I thought we were really good. We just turned the ball over. When you hold a team to 108 points and 27 of those came off turnovers, the defense was really good. Offensively, we were not good at all."

The Lakers had been playing better as of late, winning four of six games before the loss to Memphis, but they've yet to showcase form that would suggest they're high-end championship contenders following a significant offseason roster overhaul, highlighted by the addition of Westbrook.

Thursday's loss came with the Grizzlies missing their top two scorers, Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks, who are in the NBA's COVID-19 safety protocols.

"I think when their star players are out, we have to lock in even more because these guys have no conscience," Davis said. "They want to come in and beat the Lakers, beat LeBron, beat AD, beat whoever, beat Melo. Like, they want to say, 'I gave the Lakers 30, 25, whatever.'"

L.A. has a favorable schedule on the horizon with four straight opponents sporting a record of .500 or worse, giving the star-studded squad a chance to start finding a groove, but its play must become more consistent if that's going to happen.

Next up for the Lakers is a visit to the Paycom Center on Friday night to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder (8-16).