Anthony Davis Clowned by Fans After Lakers' Loss to Lillard, Blazers with LeBron Out

The version of Anthony Davis that looked like an MVP candidate early in the 2022-23 season is nowhere to be found, and Lakers fans are seemingly fed up.

Davis finished with 19 points and 20 rebounds in Monday's 127-115 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, continuing his largely disappointing stretch of play since returning from a right foot injury.

The All-Star big man has scored under 20 points in three of his past four games and has not stepped up to the plate with LeBron James continuing to deal with an ankle injury.

Lakers fans have been watching Davis' movements like a hawk, especially since his seemingly odd reaction to James passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time scoring list. The big man later explained he was just angry the Lakers were losing a winnable game to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but it's nevertheless been a struggle for Davis of late.

Davis began the season with a seeming return to superstar form, eschewing the perimeter in favor of dominating near the basket. When Davis went down with the foot injury that cost him a month of action, he was playing like the superstar the Lakers hoped would be able to take over the mantle from James following LeBron's eventual retirement.

The version of Davis who has shown up since returning from injury has been a combination of timid and far less efficient as a scorer. The Lakers are in the midst of a fight just to make the play-in tournament, so they can ill afford Davis playing at anything less than 100 percent.