Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Lessons on upset shocker of the Denver Nuggets

Anthony Davis had a huge bounce-back game for the Los Angeles Lakers!

AD has not played well since coming back to the lineup, to say the least. But the issue was not the fact that he wasn’t shooting well, it was that he wasn’t being aggressive. He wasn’t attacking the basket and more importantly he wasn’t moving without the basketball.

All of that changed early in the first half against the Denver Nuggets. He was the game’s leading scorer with 16 points on 7-12 shooting. Lakers fans have been frustrated with Davis’ lack of contributions on the offensive end.

For multiple games, AD would receive the ball 15-17 feet from the basket and try to figure out his next move. That allowed the defense to adjust and load up in the paint to create walls forcing the jump shot. He was bailing opponents out.

Here are two examples of what Anthony Davis can do to open up the Lakers’ offense and make life easier on himself.

• Anthony Davis receives the ball a step or two CLOSER to the basket to get into his triple threat position.
• He makes quick and deliberate ball fakes, then attacks the basket putting Aaron Gordon on his heels.
• Notice the physical chicken wing he gave Gordon to create space and hots the reverse layup.

Vogel is trying the same formula as last year encouraging Davis to shoot 3-pointers to get ready for the playoffs. Why? He’s already suffering from a lower leg injury that he has to adjust to for the rest of the season.

If Davis has to work his legs back into shape, shooting 3-pointers at 26 percent is not going to do much for the Lakers offense or his confidence. Plus, he can worry about doing other things if he’s not camped out behind the 3-point line

Check out how Anthony Davis can pick his spots by just moving without the ball.

• Watch here as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope drives the baseline and attacks the basket.
• While he draws the attention of the Nuggets defense especially Nikola Jokic, AD sees an avenue and goes straight to the rim.
• KCP throws the alley-oop and AD finishes the play.

Davis scored in a variety of ways during the game via post-ups, getting to the line, etc. But its plays like these that can give him confidence early to get in a positive rhythm.

However, he was seen in the third quarter getting his calf stretched out and he was limping on the floor. This needs to be watched going forward. If the decision comes down to shutting Davis down for the season to avoid a Kevin Durant situation we all witnessed in the past…

Easy decision. Lay out his sweater collection.

But that’s a debate for another day. AD finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks. The biggest stat is his 1-2 from the 3 point line. This alone shows the aggressiveness that was lacking for the last couple of weeks.

Look, the Los Angeles Lakers have to deal with the injuries to LeBron James and AD. They can’t control that. Dennis Schroder being out for maybe the rest of the season stuck in the NBA’s Health and Safety protocols is out of reach as well.

But the center position can be dealt with and Frank Vogel needs to address this problem ASAP! Read on to see what Lake Show Life is talking about.