When Anthony Davis brings it, Lakers can be devastating
LOS ANGELES — Nights like Friday illustrate why the Lakers sent so much in players and draft capital to the New Orleans Pelicans in the summer of 2019 to bring Anthony Davis here.
When Davis is at his best, a scoring, rebounding, rim-protecting force, the Lakers can be a championship-caliber team. Friday night’s series-clinching 125-85 Game 6 destruction of the Memphis Grizzlies was a prime example of his impact.
It’s also a reminder of why Lakers fans get so frustrated when Davis isn’t able to play. A healthy Davis is easily one of the game’s top 10 players and maybe top five.
Consider: In the first half alone Friday night he had 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots in 19:34 as the Lakers raced to a 59-42 intermission lead. He finished with 16 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and at least as many altered shot attempts by the Grizzlies.
He was all over the floor defensively, and maybe the piece de resistance was a third quarter play when Davis hustled to save a loose ball, deflected it off of a Memphis player and out of bounds, received a standing ovation and chants of “A.D … A.D. … A.D. …” from another energized home crowd, and acknowledged the roars.
By then, the score was 89-59 Lakers, during a 41-point quarter that buried the Grizzlies and sent his team hurtling toward a second-round matchup beginning Tuesday at either Golden State or Sacramento, depending on who wins Sunday’s Game 7 in that series.
But the overall point: When Davis is so active and effective, these Lakers are a very good team and quite likely championship caliber. When the Lakers struggled in this series, often it was while Davis was on the bench.
Friday night he only played 28:29, but it was a devastating enough 28:29 that he could sit out the final 3½ minutes of the third quarter and all of the fourth.
“I got here probably about 3:10,” for a scheduled 7:30 tipoff, Coach Darvin Ham said. “Bron (LeBron James) was already here, and ‘A’ was here shortly after. Just that focus, those guys being ready to go. I can’t say enough about those two, Bron’s leadership and A.D. wanting to be elite, telling me verbally he’s going to be elite defensively this series.
“… (Davis) was the main catalyst. He and Bron were talking to people, talking to Dennis (Schröder), Austin (Reaves), Vando (Jarred Vanderbilt). The communication was at an elite level.”
Schröder called Davis “the defensive player of the year in our eyes.” D’Angelo Russell emphasized the fact that Davis doesn’t have to score to be valuable. And James, whose lobbying helped get A.D. to L.A. in the first place, put it this way:
“I think we all know, the world knows, the basketball guys know, the competition knows, how dominant A.D. is defensively. So he was A.D. He was spectacular.”
In addition to trying to dominate defensively, with what he called “my energy and effort and a presence at the rim,” Davis said he has attempted to be more of a vocal leader. Schröder said that from his first Lakers stint in 2020-21 to now, he noticed Davis has developed a more assertive, more effective voice.
“I try to grow leadership-wise every year,” Davis said. “I know my voice is very important in the locker room, alongside Bron’s. … I talk to ’em. Guys come to me all the time asking questions: What do I want on the floor? What do I see? And I just try to take a step every year, especially when we get into the postseason, to talk to the guys and let my voice be heard.”
Another sign of progress: Maintaining that consistent defensive presence, even when the offensive game might not be there on a given night.
“Just keep going,” said Davis, who had 26 blocks in the six-game series. “You know, you’re not going to have a game that you like every time you step on the floor. But playing with that energy, you can control. And I just try to control the things I can control. And that’s playing hard, playing a lot of energy, defense. I can’t control the ball (to) go in the basket every time. But on the defensive end I can, I think, control, you know, a lot of things. And that kind of just fuels the offense.
“So no matter what I’m doing, I want to be able to leave a mark on the game defensively and that can kind of fuel my offensive game and the team’s offensive game, and also fuel the defensive end for us as a collective. So you know, I just (think) next play mentality and just keep going and keep playing and the rest will take care of itself.”
There is a subtlety here. One of Ham’s mantras is “next play mentality,” flushing the last one and concentrating on what’s in front of you. When the players and especially the stars are repeating the coach’s pet sayings, you know he’s getting his points across.
And this is one of them:
“If you’re consistent and you play at that level on that (defensive) side of the ball, it’s going to get you places and get you to the destination that’s at that end of your journey,” Ham said. “A.D., he has to do that. For us to do what we want to do and what we’re trying to do, he has to be that anchor for us.”
Davis gets it, for sure. He just has to stay focused, stay energized and stay healthy. If he does, this could turn out to be a more fun spring for the Lakers than even their own fans had anticipated.
LeBron James (22 PTS, 6 AST) and Anthony Davis (16 PTS, 14 REB, 5 BLK) get it done in the Game 6 win!
The Lakers advance to Round 2 👏 pic.twitter.com/bkF4FhKD3b
— NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2023
Anthony Davis speaks on the trash talking this series and the identity of this team. pic.twitter.com/Oi6dFb7seE
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 29, 2023
