Lakers Lose to Cavaliers as Anthony Davis Exits Early With Fever. Plus, Why is Pat Beverley Starting?

Eight minutes into Tuesday's game in Cleveland, Anthony Davis went to the locker room. Surely most Lakers fans freaked out, given AD's injury history, but this turned out to be (relatively) benign - flu like symptoms. Davis apparently had a 101-degree fever. Nothing that should keep him out long-term. That said, when Davis left the game, the Lakers chances of winning diminished significantly, especially with Wenyen Gabriel out as well (shoulder).

So shorthanded, the Lakers stuck with one of the NBA's best teams, a squad that had lost one game on its home floor. Only with a late fourth quarter push were the Cavs able to put the Lakers away. This despite LA shooting barely 16% from 3-point range, and (aside from Thomas Bryant) struggling to score efficiently.

They hung in thanks to a combination of effort and confidence, finding ways to make a play whenever Cleveland made a push. After, though, nobody was particularly impressed. LeBron noted that this is how they expect to play. There was nothing to learn, necessarily, about their character or makeup.

One big question people are starting to raise? Why is Patrick Beverley getting the kind of playing time he does? Despite being a massive negative offensively, and often mismatched defensively playing against wings when a real wing (Troy Brown) is available?

So is it loyalty from Darvin? Are team leaders (of which he's surely one) making it clear they think Beverley should be playing? Yes to both? But particularly if Dennis Schroder is also going to start, this choice from Ham seems odd and potentially problematic.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers lose AD to the flu, then lose Tuesday's game to the Cavs.

SEGMENT 2: What went wrong for the Lakers on Tuesday, and why there are some encouraging things to take away.

SEGMENT 3: Patrick Beverley is trending again. Probably not a good thing...

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