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Los Angeles Lakers: Anthony Davis’ struggles continue in loss to Pacers

Ronald Agers|
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 08: JaKarr Sampson #14 of the Indiana Pacers dunks the ball against Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first quarter in a NBA basketball game at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 8, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 08: JaKarr Sampson #14 of the Indiana Pacers dunks the ball against Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first quarter in a NBA basketball game at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 8, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers

Anthony Davis is not playing well for the Los Angeles Lakers. Any reasons (Cough, cough excuses)?

Man, it seems like a long time since AD dropped a 40 piece on Rudy Gobert doesn’t it? Well in this rapid-paced schedule to get the NBA Finals done by October 12th, it has been a long time. Basically it’s been a minute since Anthony Davis has done anything outside of the first quarter of the Houston game.

Davis turned in yet another no-show performance finishing with 8 points on 3-14 shooting. After this debacle, AD is averaging 11.3 points on 33.3% shooting in the last three games. All losses. In the Lakers wins, he’s averaging 39.5 points, 10 rebounds while Grand Marshaling a parade to the free throw line.

In this game, he went twice. For the record, he did take the blame for the loss via ESPN.

"“It is on me,” Davis said after being held to single digits for the fourth time this season. “I had some good looks tonight, just missed shots around the rim, the layup that I missed, open 3s missed, open mid-range shot. Shot just not going in.”"

Additionally, Davis was a -20 in the box score, which was worst on the team.

There’s no denying Anthony Davis’ skill on a basketball court. If he is aggressive and engaged, good luck finding anyone on the planet to stop him. But when he’s not in the offense and loses rhythm, good luck finding him at all illustrated by these three losses.

Look, we all know that he can do this.

https://twitter.com/SpectrumSN/status/1292226059836911616

The open questions from Lake Show Life about Anthony Davis, the future of the franchise are as follows.

  • Does AD has that killer instinct to destroy elite level players as the playoffs goes deeper?
  • Can he stand up to the constant double teams that teams will throw at him at almost every possession? He struggled at times reading where the double team was coming from.
  • Does he have the toughness to deal with the physicality of being the number one guy?
  • Does he have the mental toughness to deal with the pressure of being the number one guy?
  • If the shot is not falling, can he impact the game in other ways. 
  • Finally, when things are starting to go south and the opposing team is on a run, does he have the ability to stop the run by making a play.

Guess we have to wait until the end of the month when the playoffs start to find out.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ next game will be on Monday against the Denver Nuggets, who won a double-overtime marathon against the Utah Jazz on Saturday. After that game, there’s one more before the playoffs start.

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