Getty Lakers stars LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook
One of the top players on the Los Angeles Lakers has been called out and urged to “raise” his game for the purple and gold to reach their ceiling next season.
In an August 23rd piece called “The Most Important Player Improvement for Every NBA Team In 2022-23,” Bleacher Report’s Mo Dakhil wrote that Anthony Davis needs to “make jumpers again” for the Lakers to compete in 2022-23.
“The Lakers have struggled massively since winning the championship in 2020. Injuries have played a role but the bigger issue has been the precipitous drop in Anthony Davis’ shooting,” Dakhil wrote. “During that playoff run, Davis connected on 49.6 percent of his mid-range shots and 38.3 from three. Since then, his numbers from the mid-range dropped to 35.8 percent and 22.9 percent from deep. The last two seasons have been his worst shooting seasons from three over the last seven years.
“Los Angeles is going to need a big shooting season from Davis to help space the floor. The lack of shooting was an issue for them last season. Driving lanes were clogged for LeBron James and the whole team.”
Davis shot 34.8% on jump shots, 31.7% on shots from 10-to-15 feet and 18.6% from beyond the arc last season. The big man averaged 23.2 points and 9.9 rebounds, but Davis only appeared in 40 games.
The Chicago native missed 17 straight games from late December until late January after suffering an MCL sprain in his left knee against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Then in mid-February, Davis sustained a right mid-foot sprain versus the Utah Jazz, causing him to miss 18 consecutive games.
Lakers Will Run Offense Through Davis Next Season
According to an August 9th report from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, new Lakers head coach Darvin Ham plans to run his offense through Davis next season. Four-time MVP LeBron James is on board with Ham’s plan.
“Furthermore, the first-year head coach said one wrinkle he will implement and stick with is having the offense run through Anthony Davis, and James concurred, sources said,” Haynes reported. “The team has been encouraged with Davis’ offseason progression and believe he’ll be in optimum shape to avoid serious injuries and carry a heavier load.”
James will turn 38 in December and the 2022-23 season will be his 20th campaign in the NBA. Meanwhile, Davis will turn 30 in March and the three-time blocks champion has less mileage on his body than James, who has played in 10 Finals.
Davis signed a five-year, $190 million contract with the Lakers in December 2020. In 138 regular-season games with LA, the Kentucky product is averaging 24.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.1 blocks. Davis has only played in 76 games since agreeing to his new contract.
Davis Is ‘Working Out with Increased Diligence’ This Summer
According to a July 29th report from Marc Stein of Substack, Davis has been “working out with increased diligence” after making a controversial statement in June. The eight-time All-Star said during a June 10th appearance on the “Nuke Squad” YouTube vlog that he hadn’t picked up a basketball since April.
“Some potential good news for the aforementioned Lakers and the soon-to-be-extension-eligible James: Anthony Davis’ surprising disclosure in mid-June that he hadn’t shot a basketball since early April might have been a blessing in disguise,” Stein reported. “Davis, by all accounts, has been working out with increased diligence ever since his comments generated a wave of strong criticism.”
Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka told Doris Burke and Mark Jones of ESPN on July 8th that Davis has “quietly put together one of the biggest offseasons of his career.” Davis will make $37.9 million next season.
“He’s bought in, and I think he’s quietly put together, you know, one of the biggest offseasons of his career,” Pelinka said on July 8th during a Summer League game in Las Vegas. “You can just tell. He’s got a very serious tone about him. And, you know, last year didn’t unfold the way any of us wanted and I think everyone’s gonna come back with a chip on our shoulder and AD’s gonna lead us with that.
“I think he’s working hard. I know he’s working really hard on his body. Just excited to see what he’s gonna do. And I think you could tell, Doris and Mark, with the roster, you know, with the free-agent moves we made this offseason, we wanted to get younger. We wanted to get more athletic and faster and defensive-minded. Those are the things that coach Ham really wanted.”