Lakers' Anthony Davis: Nets Are Biggest Threat to LA After James Harden Trade

The Western Conference is loaded with challengers to the Los Angeles Lakers, but Anthony Davis thinks an Eastern Conference contender is their biggest threat to repeat as NBA champions.

In an interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols, the Lakers star said the addition of James Harden makes the Brooklyn Nets "a threat" to beat them because "they're a team that can score at will" (starts at 3:40 mark):

Brooklyn is still working out the kinks as Harden gets acclimated to playing alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Since losing consecutive games to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Nets have won three straight games and are a season-high four games over .500 (12-8). They have scored at least 113 points in six of seven games since Harden's debut Jan. 16 with a 5-2 record.

The Lakers have hit their first rough patch of the season with back-to-back losses for the first time since August. They're the No. 3 seed in the West with a 14-6 record behind the Utah Jazz (14-4) and Los Angeles Clippers (14-5).

Despite this bump in the road, the Lakers look like one of the best teams in the league. They lead the NBA in defensive rating (104.9) and are tied for second in net rating (plus-8.0).

Davis is having another terrific season playing alongside LeBron James. The seven-time All-Star ranks second on the Lakers with 21.9 points per game on 52.2 percent shooting.