Getty Anthony Davis at the end of the Lakers-Hawks game in Atlanta.
The Los Angeles Lakers are a below-average team for many reasons despite having LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook. They can’t stop teams from scoring, giving up 112.2 points per game, and are 21st in the league in net rating.
Another reason the Lakers have struggled this season is due to their poor free-throw shooting. They are 29th in the NBA in free-throw shooting percentage and Davis says that has to change quickly.
Davis on Lakers’ FT Shooting: ‘We Definitely Have to Do a Better Job’
In the Lakers’ 99-94 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on February 2, the purple and gold shot 66.7% from the free-throw line. Davis, who went 10-of-14 from the line, told reporters during his postgame media session that he and his teammates need to get their act together at the charity stripe for their season to turn around.
“I think we’re in the bottom half of the league in free-throw shooting,” Davis said, via Corey Hansford of LakersNation.com. “We have good free throw shooters we just have to take our time and make them. I think we missed 11 in the Atlanta game. That’s how you win and lose games. If we would’ve lost tonight that would’ve been a reason, cause we missed so many free throws.
“I’m not sure how many we missed today. Eleven. We definitely have to do a better job of that category. Take our time. Take our deep breaths or whatever your routine is and concentrate and knock our free throws down. That definitely can cost you games, and it can also win you games, so we have to lock in more at the line.”
The Lakers are shooting 73.3% from the free-throw line on the season. Their best shooter from the line is Avery Bradley, who is shooting 85.7%. LeBron, Davis and Westbrook — the three best players on the team — are shooting below 76.0%; Westbrook is shooting a putrid 67.4% from the charity stripe.
The good news for the Lakers is that Davis has played like a superstar since returning from his knee injury. The Chicago native has to put the team on his back for the foreseeable future since LeBron is on the shelf.
Davis Is Averaging 24.0 Points, 8.5 Rebounds over Last 4 Games
Davis is averaging 24.0 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 55.2% from the field since returning to the Lakers’ lineup on January 25 against the Brooklyn Nets. The Brow is also blocking 3.0 shots a game, showing why he’s one of the top two-way players in the league.
During the Lakers-Blazers game, Davis played with a sense of urgency we haven’t seen from him in a while. The All-Star big man is trying to “get back to my old self.”
“Just trying to lead the team,” Davis said. “I think we all kind of felt some type of way after that Atlanta loss. Just tried to come out with the mindset of ending this streak. We have a couple at home. Play with force, play with urgency. It was a hard-fought game. This team is capable of scoring at will. They have a lot of shooters. We just fought. We just fought hard tonight. It was a great game for us.”
Davis and the Lakers will look to make it two wins in a row when they face the Los Angeles Clippers next.