Los Angeles Lakers: Anthony Davis must be ready for minutes at center

With DeMarcus Cousins going down, Anthony Davis must be ready for more minutes at center.

When the Los Angeles Lakers signed DeMarcus Cousins after trading for Anthony Davis, it was common sense that Davis will play at his natural position. Davis has played power forward for most of his career, and it’s clear he enjoys it.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, Cousins went down with a torn ACL injury in a workout in Vegas this week. The news came out of nowhere as Cousins had stated he felt he was at 100 percent a few weeks ago. The injury marks Cousins’ second huge injury over the last few seasons. A few seasons ago he tore his Achilles.

Anthony Davis told sources this summer that he wants to play power forward. It’s simply where he fits comfortably. Despite being a great shot-blocker and rim protector, he is better suited at the four spot, due to his frame. Davis is 6″10, but weighs around 250 pounds. In today’s NBA he can play center with ease.

As a result to the Cousins injury, the Lakers are down to one true center on their roster and that’s JaVale McGee. McGee had his strongest season of his career, numbers wise. He averaged 12 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 22 minutes. Even with a healthy McGee there will be a lot of extra minutes at center.

Just imagine if the Lakers hadn’t signed McGee, they would have to look in the free-agent market. The market for bigs is incredibly thin, with the only guys being out there are Joakim Noah and Kenneth Faried.

Despite reports claiming the Lakers won’t play him much at center even after Cousins injury, I believe he will.  Even last season without Davis, McGee only played 22 minutes a night and he wasn’t closing games most days. There’s no other “center” on the Lakers roster at this point, so it’s common sense he will play center at least for a portion of games.

Davis playing center will have a lot more positives than negatives, if any. He is simply a mismatch for any big, especially a center. Davis runs with the best of them, has a great mid-range game, and can even handle the ball. Centers in the Western Conference like Nikola Jokic and Clint Capela will have a nightmare defending the Lakers.

The Lakers might even start Davis at center, means that they can go with Kyle Kuzma and LeBron James at the forward spots. Had Cousins started, it was a possibility that Kuzma came off the bench.

This doesn’t change Davis’ game or anything but it can prove to be a devastating blow if the Lakers have the injury bug they had last year.

Get well soon Boogie!