Anthony Davis in the clutch
Clutch situations refer to the last five minutes of a game when neither team is winning by more than five points.
Anthony Davis is not a good clutch performer.
Last season AD averaged 2.0 points per game during clutch situations, which ranked 63rd in the NBA. Furthermore, he had a -1.9 net rating throughout the closing minutes of close games.
Anthony Davis doesn’t hate to lose like most of the great players in the NBA. During the end of close games, he doesn’t throw his hands up, scream for ball, and then go to work.
Next season his deferential attitude won’t work though, because the Lakers have championship aspirations and the best teams in the NBA feature two All-Stars who can get their own shot to close out tight games.
Look at the top six teams from last season:
- The Warriors had Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
- The Raptors had Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry
- The 76ers had Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler
- The Bucks had Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton
- The Rockets had James Harden and Chris Paul
- The Trailblazers had Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum
At the end of close playoff games when defenders crank up their intensity levels to max effort and they start flying all over the court breaking up pick and roll’s and other set plays, half court offensive possessions always boil down to one-on-one plays. 99 percent of the time, the team that can get stops on defense and the squad that has the better individual offensive players ends up winning.
Next season, Anthony Davis is going to have to change his personality for the Lakers to win in the playoffs. AD has shooting guard skills in a center’s body. He can get a good shot up against opposing big any time he wants to, so it’s a basketball crime that “The Brow,” only averaged two clutch points per game last year.
Throughout the 2019-2020 season, AD will have to learn how to get that same fire in his eyes that pulses through the best players in the league. If Anthony Davis figures out how to combine his incredible talent with an assassin’s mentality at the end of close games, then the Lakers will be nearly unstoppable at the end of the fourth quarter.