Los Angeles Lakers: 3 takeaways from blowout win over Houston Rockets

Anthony Davis shut the Houston Rockets down and anchored an intense Los Angeles Lakers defense!

Let’s start this discussion about Anthony Davis with a Jared Dudley description.

"The things we ask Anthony Davis to do is unlike any other player in this league…Some teams have Schemes! He is the Scheme! Stats doesn’t always show it. Like a shutdown corner in the NFL not having a lot of INTs! Don’t look at just Blocks or Steals, please look at the Film…"

As a Deion Sanders fan, this writer can relate. That calf strain must be much better.

Anthony Davis is no longer considered a top-five player in the NBA. It’s now top two and his teammate is the other one. As dominant as LeBron James was on the offensive end, AD was EVEN MORE devastating on the defensive end. It seemed every defensive play he made turned into points.

AD finished finished with 19 points (7-8 shooting!), 10 rebounds (2 Offensive!), 2 assists, 5 blocked shots and no turnovers. Basically, the only mistake he made all night was missing one shot.

He anchored a Lakers defense that played the passing lanes and got deflections, got steals and if someone got to the lane, the rim protection was there too. AD put on a clinic with his interior defense.

If a Rocket got close to the rim, he would either swipe the ball down low or block it on top. He issued a challenge to the team to get better on defense and he led the charge. Since Anthony Davis returned to the lineup, his defensive focus is off the charts.

Again, this should have been one of the major storylines of this game. Sadly it’s not. But watching James Harden quit and John  Wall call him out on it shows the character not only from the superstars but this Lakers franchise.

Read on to see the professionalism of not only LeBron and AD, but the Los Angeles Lakers as a whole.