The Los Angeles Lakers might just be better without Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis suffered an ankle injury in the Los Angeles Lakers win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday and for many fans, that was the final straw that ended the team’s playoff chances. Davis will be re-evaluated in four weeks and it is safe to say that he will miss at least 4-6 weeks with the injury.

The last two seasons have not been kind to Davis, who missed most of last season with injury before again getting hurt in the playoffs, ultimately resulting in the Lakers’ early exit. The same song and dance has occurred this season as the Lakers have played 23 games either without AD (or games that he got hurt early in).

There is no denying that when AD is at his best he is one of the 10 best players in the NBA. However, he really has not been his best over the last two seasons. In 73 games played over the last two years AD is averaging 22.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per game. He has a combined .164 win shares per 48 minutes, which is down 25% from what his career average was before the 2020-21 season.

In fact, his WS/48 over the last two years ranks 25th among players with as many minutes played as him. He has not been a top-10 player in the league the last two years, he has barely been a top-25 player.

But still, losing a top-25 player is still a big deal, right? Maybe not for this year’s Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been better this season without Anthony Davis.

Obviously, the ceiling of the team is significantly higher when Anthony Davis is playing and there is a zero percent chance that they win the title without him (although the chances of winning with him and Russell Westbrook is still probably under 10%).

However, in terms of regular-season play, the Lakers have been better either without AD or when AD is on the bench. A big reason why is AD being the worst jump-shooter in the league early on in the season as well as his tendency to, quite frankly, not go 100% in regular-season games like he does the playoffs.

Disagree? The numbers do not line. In games in which the Lakers were without AD (or he got hurt early like against Utah) they are 11-12 (11-10 when LeBron plays and AD doesn’t). In games that Davis did play the Lakers are 16-19.

Sure, Davis had to play a big chunk of his games without LeBron early in the season but isn’t he supposed to be the franchise guy to take over when LeBron leaves?

If the record split was not enough then let’s just look at the numbers. The Lakers are statistically worst in just about every important category when AD is on the court versus when he is off the court. Take a look for yourself:

Poss Net Rk Player Tm Season G MP Tm Opp Pace FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% eFG% FT FTA FT% PTS 1 Anthony Davis LAL 2021-22 37 1297.2 2710 2706 100.2 -0.1 -1.3 +.005 -1.5 -3.4 -.009 -0.002 -0.9 -0.4 -.030 -2.6

Provided by Stathead.com: View Stathead Tool Used
Generated 2/18/2022.

The only plus sign on that chart is the team’s field goal percentage when AD is on the court, which is a minuscule .005% better. Not really a difference there if you ask me.

There is no denying that the Los Angeles Lakers need Anthony Davis to reach the team’s ceiling, whatever that might be this season. However, there is also no denying that Davis has to be better for the Lakers when he does return from injury as well.

Because with the way he has been playing this season, the Lakers might play better over the next 4-6 weeks than they have the last 4-6 weeks.