1. Anthony Davis – Los Angeles Lakers
This season I’ve just wanted to grab Anthony Davis and yell “Play some D and stop shooting 3’s!” It’s been a frustrating start to the year for Lakers fans, as they are seeing their franchise playing (going forward) squander his incredible gifts. I think it’s fair to argue that AD is the most talented power-forward ever, and after the Lakers won the title in 2020, you could see Davis joining the ranks of all the great Laker big men.
This season, Davis seems determined to play in the most ineffective way possible, on offense and defense. On offense, he’s hitting 51.8% from the field which is good, but he’s hitting an abysmal 19.6% from 3. He needs to stop taking 3’s altogether and accept the fact that he isn’t very good at them. He’s still a decent mid-range shooter. He’s currently shooting 44.2% on all shots from 16 feet to the 3-point line and at the rim, he’s hitting a monstrous 78.2%. Davis has always had an amazing touch around the rim, he should use it more often.
Out of all lineups involving Davis that have played at least 30 minutes together, the one with the biggest net points is where he plays Center with a small power-forward. The Lakers need to run these types of lineups more often because they actually work.
On defense, Davis has been terrible and he really has no excuse. In the 2019-20 season, Davis only allowed 51.8% of shots he defended against to go in. He was using his athleticism and wingspan to great effect. This season, he’s allowing 63.0%.
This just isn’t good enough. Davis is a defensive player and is meant to anchor LA’s defense, but he is just slacking on that end. The Lakers currently have the 4th worst defense in the NBA and allow 113.2 PPG. Defense wins championships, it’s what won them the title in 2020 and would have probably done so again last season if LeBron and AD hadn’t gotten injured.
Davis needs to get back to basics, realize what works for him and then stick with that.