5 things the Los Angeles Lakers must improve on with Anthony Davis out

5. Rebounding

The Los Angeles Lakers have been outrebounded

Pat Riley, the head coach of the dynastic Showtime Lakers of the 1980s, had an old saying: no rebounds, no rings.

Rebounding hasn’t been a problem for L.A., but in its last four games, it has failed to outrebound its opponent.

At times, the Lakers have done a poor job of limiting their opponent’s offensive rebounds and second-shot opportunities.

Without Davis, the Lakers have a noticeable lack of impact rebounders. Reserve forward Montrezl Harrell is a good and ferocious rebounder, but at 6-foot-7, he lacks the height to effectively keep many other big men off the offensive boards.

Starting center Marc Gasol has been a pretty good rebounder throughout his career, but he has failed to step things up enough, and he simply lacks the mobility and athleticism to be a true force on the boards.

LeBron James is also a pretty good rebounder, but do we really want him to exert that much more energy at this point of the season, especially considering his age and mileage?

I wrote a recent article about how the Lakers have needed to acquire another center all season long, and that need is even more pronounced with Davis out. But who knows when, or even if that will happen?

Until then, the Lakers will need to attack the boards with a vengeance.