Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Lessons learned from Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks sweep
By Ronald Agers
Is there something wrong with Anthony Davis? Two games, two mediocre performances.
Yes, Los Angeles Lakers fans, there is something wrong with Anthony Davis. He’s injured. His shoulder and ribs are really bothering him right now. In between AD’s injuries and LeBron playing out of his mind, the dynamics of this team has changed.
LeBron James has taken the number one option away from AD. With good reason.
This has not affected his defensive prowess. Davis has blocked shots and helped anchor the defense very well this season.
But the aggressiveness is gone. Against Memphis, his aggressiveness got him to the line a Lakers record 27 times in the game. Since then, the free throws have declined sharply while he’s looking more like he did against the Clippers on opening night.
Against the Kings, Davis scored 17 points and grabbed only five rebounds. He blocked four shots in the game, but he turned the ball over four times.
Against the Hawks, the most glaring stat in the box score for Davis was that he grabbed one rebound. That’s right, only one rebound in 28 minutes. He scored 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting. He had five assists and five blocks but turned the ball over four times.
This can pass with bad teams, but the tough part of the schedule is coming down the line. These performances aren’t going to cut it.
Other lessons:
This team is extremely confident. It seems that most of the roster believes that they belong. If anyone missed this play last night, consider it a learning experience. Watch Los Angeles Lakers games every night. You could miss something you haven’t seen before.
https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1196272338880196608
When was the last time Danny Green caught a rebound and slammed it back through with one hand? Isn’t that AD and LeBron’s job? A complete reversal don’t you think?
What you are seeing here is a fun team that really enjoy being around each other. Last year was considered a real grind, but this team has just as much fun on the bench as they do on the floor.
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The next game is against the Chris Paul led Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.