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Over the last two LA Lakers games, Anthony Davis has been reminding everyone of what he can do when on top of his game. Without LeBron James, he has carried the Lakers to back-to-back wins against the Brooklyn Nets and the Detroit Pistons.
After the win over the Pistons, Anthony Davis had this to say about the improvement in his performance:
“He [Ham] said in his press conference that we only go as far as I go. I’m just trying to do my part. I feel like I’m getting my rhythm back, playing X amount of minutes, whatever it takes to win, trying to help my team win with the slow start we had as a team.
"That’s what I wrote on the whiteboard before training camp, ‘Feed the ball to AD.’ … The team wants that, our locker room wants that and it’s my job to go out there execute that.”
In the Lakers’ two-game winning streak, Anthony Davis has averaged 37.5 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks. AD has also continued his strong performances on the defensive end. The blocks and steals don’t do complete justice to how he anchors LA’s defense.
Before the season started, Darvin Ham informed everyone, with LeBron James’ approval, that the LA Lakers will be running everything through Davis. Playing with new teammates and lower-back tightness contributed to his so-so start to the season.
Earlier this month, LA’s strategy to get the big man going right off the bat worked like a charm. In back-to-back games against the Utah Jazz and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Davis was unstoppable in the first half. He also disappeared in the second half, which was a huge reason for those losses.
In the Lakers’ recent wins, Darvin Ham made sure they never strayed from their game plan of consistently involving Anthony Davis. Regardless of whether he attempted a shot or not, the ball always found Davis.
He has been criticized in the past for being too casual and lackadaisical. If the Lakers and AD can keep what they’re doing, they may just salvage this season.
Anthony Davis has to maintain, if not improve, his aggressiveness for the rest of the season for the LA Lakers
Anthony Davis was dominant against two teams that didn’t offer much interior resistance. The Brooklyn Nets relied mostly on Royce O’Neale, Marcus Morris and Nic Claxton to contain AD. When the double team didn’t come on time, they were toast.
Ditto for the Detroit Pistons, who had Marvin Bagley and rookie Jalen Duren take on the enviable task of putting the cuffs on Davis. AD dropped a season-high 38 points on them. The season is long and the LA Lakers will face teams with bigger and better interior defenders.
In the Lakers’ loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the eight-time All-Star poured 17 of his 19 points in the first half. When the duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen ramped up their intensity and attention to detail on defense, Davis scored just two points the rest of the way.
Good things happen to the Lakers when Davis demands the ball on offense. Darvin Ham is right. While LeBron James is still putting up great numbers, the Lakers will go as far as AD can take them.
