What’s really wrong with the Los Angeles Lakers, explained
By Jason Reed
2. Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis at his best is one of the 10 best players in the league and is one of a very select few number of players who can impact the game as much as he does both offensively and defensively. This is by no means a indication of Davis’ overall talent.
That being said, while the counting stats seem fine, Davis has not played as well as he needs to thus far this season and is hurting the team in multiple ways. Part of that reason is that he has to play alongside Russell Westbrook, who just does not fit well with him, but there are multiple things to pick apart about Davis’ game.
MORE: Predicting every December game for the Lakers
The biggest frustration with Davis is the fact that he has all the makings of being the best modern-day center in the league yet does not want to play the five. This forces the team to go get guys like Jordan and Dwight Howard, and quite frankly, is not helping the Lakers’ floor spacing whatsoever.
Davis wants to be a stretch four so bad when in reality he should be playing as a five who can operate at all three levels with a true stretch four next to him. Davis is trying to force things as a stretch four and his jump shot is horrendous this season, only hurting the floor spacing more. Davis’s jump shot efficiency is the worst in the entire NBA this season.
While the advanced metrics are positive (3.1 BPM), it is clear that his desired role with the team is hurting the team more than it is helping it. Nothing is more indicative of that than his on/off splits. The Lakers’ net rating is 8.7 points worse when Davis is on the court than when he is off.