LeBron James and the Lakers would still be playing right now if it weren't for Anthony Davis' brutal injury ... so says Ben McLemore, who tells TMZ Sports "everybody knows" things would've been a LOT different if AD stayed healthy.
Remember, AD went down with a groin injury in Game 4 of the first-round series against Phoenix ... and the Lakers ended up getting eliminated in 6 games.
We spoke with McLemore about the impact the injury had on the series .