Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Lessons from the first road loss of the season

The Los Angeles Lakers are wearing out Anthony Davis!

Remember the press conference when Anthony Davis politely let the world know that he did want to play center? Forget all that “I just want to help the team win” part. Pay attention to his “I don’t want to do this long term” part. That’s the important quote.

For the last two games, AD has had to bang and lean on Andre Drummond (Who’s playing for a trade to a contender AND his next max deal!) in Cleveland, then he had to put up with the most skilled center in the NBA in this game. Here’s LeBron’s take on AD’s struggles according to Lakers Daily’s Ryan Ward.

"“Missed some shots that he’s accustomed to making. I think AD is in a pretty good rhythm right now & I think every game is getting better & better for him, but it’s our job to give him the ball & I thought we did a good job at times. At times, we did not.”"

Well here’s Lake Show Life’s take on the situation.

Folks, Davis defending opposing big centers are wearing him down big time on the offensive end.

Here’s the difference between last year when he wasn’t matching up with centers and now.

Watch this offensive sequence here.

With Marc Gasol on the floor not being an offensive threat, AD spends ten dribbles working to get around Joel Embiid. As nice as that hook shot was, Embiid is making him work so hard to get a difficult shot. 

Now, look at this play here. Now isn’t this what the Lakers Nation is used to?

LeBron James attacks the basket drawing three players including Embiid. AD follows behind Joel to the front of the rim. LeBron hits AD with a beautiful bounce pass for the dunk. 

Davis finished the game with 23 points (9-18 shooting!), 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.

By AD’s standards, his game is off. The numbers are he’s getting lately is because he’s one of the top five players in the league. The problem now is, his play hasn’t been the difference-making level that Lakers fans have gotten used to.

• He is shooting a much lower 74 percent from the free-throw line (5-10 in this game and two crucial misses in crunch time!).
• His energy is being sapped defending centers on one end while getting pounded on the offensive end.

Lake Show Life thinks the frustration is mounting here. Something NBC Sports Philadelphia had something to say about…

"Anthony Davis scared to guard Joel. Marc Gasol angry because he can’t guard Joel."

Anthony Davis spent some time on the bench getting treatment for his right knee in the first half. After the game, AD attributed it to floor burn. Hopefully, that’s the case because if he has to miss games for tendonitis or a bone bruise…the Los Angeles Lakers are in trouble.

There was a mention of Marc Gasol on this page. His play has commanded a lot of conversation about his play. The conversations will not stop after this game. Read on to see why.