Health and some subtle adjustments helped Anthony Davis improve his game, once again making him one of the best two-way players in the league.
When the Los Angeles Lakers stormed The Bubble in 2020 (you’ll remember they were a dominant 16-5 in those playoffs), they did so on the backs of two of the best players in the world – LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
And while it’s only natural that James has lost some of his glam (the guy’s been in the league for two decades), his heir apparent hasn’t been able to take his rightful place on the throne due to the countless injuries he’s suffered since.
After an up and down two seasons, the “Bubble Anthony Davis” tale has become more of a tall tale than a staple of NBA lore.
However, now healthy, Davis has used this opportunity to reclaim his former glory.
Played by Anthony Davis as Prime Shaquille O’Neal
A defining characteristic of Davies’ bubble track was its out-and-out shooting. And after hitting 38 percent from the average and 19 percent from the three-point line last season, he reignited some of those old flames, improving those percentages to 44 percent and 29 percent, respectively.
The resurgence of his documentary player was a useful feature in his toolbox, but that’s not why he’s scoring 28 points per game again. There he is credited with being his inner beast.
In the first week of the season, we established that the Lakers have some terrible runs. It’s not that they don’t try. Coach Darvin Hamm has done an admirable job putting him in the right position with his 4-out, 1-in. They don’t have the staff to make the distances between them matter.
The Lakers are 30th in the league in 3s and 3 points percentage. It doesn’t matter that they have four players on the perimeter ready to rack up 3s at a moment’s notice. No one in their right mind would end up struggling to rival these particular shooters. This leads to the paint filling impellers. In response, L.A. decided that it would, too.
Realizing that trying to be a freshman team with such a roster was futile, the Lakers began implementing closer-to-the-basket measures to put their talented paint catchers in more suitable positions.
An excellent example of this can be seen in their use of the ergonomic pick and roll (the 3-point in-line catch and roll combo). The Lakers rely on this disparity in the ball screen in order to secure a deep coating position for Davis’ edge runs and beyond.
Davis is currently lapping the field in indoor scoring. His 14.8 points per game is 3.5 points higher than second-ranked Garrett Allen (according to NBA.com). All in all, as a team, the Lakers average the second most points in the paint per game.
Davis’ ability to make these high-value shots with high volume also enables him to land a lot of free throws (undoubtedly the most efficient shot in basketball). His 11.3 free throw attempts per 100 possessions put him in the 97th percentile, leading him to be in the 92nd percentile in overall scoring efficiency.
Another effect downstream that the Lakers used Davis like Shaquille O’Neal in the modern era is that his inside appeal now creates open 3-point chances.
In their Tuesday night thriller against the Celtics, after being burned by pick-and-rolls in the first three quarters, Boston decided to start contact switch Ball screens featured in Davis.
For those in the house, this technique requires that the defender making the count maintain contact with the checker until the other defender turns on him. This strategy is usually used as a delaying tactic to delay rolls in which Davis is frequently involved.
The drawback to this method is that it opens up a half-second window in which the ball tackler can attack, and the Lakers took advantage of this opportunity to launch two relatively open 3-pointers.
And while we note that the Lakers are a poor outside shooting team (which makes the open chances created by Davis’ appeal less significant), it’s a step in the right direction to see them be able to force defenses to adapt to it in some way.
Is Anthony Davis Back To Being A DPOY Candidate Too?
More than anything he’s brought to the table offensively, Davis made his bones as an outstanding performer on the defensive end.
So far this season, his statistical indicators in this regard have been promising. Defensive EPM — arguably the best number one metric on the market thanks to its blending of tracking data into an algorithm — puts it at the 96th percentile defensively.
Opponents shoot 5.7 percentage points worse on field goal attempts that Davis has defended, seventh among 57 seniors to play at least 20 games this year (according to NBA.com).
But unlike most other paint protectors, it also makes a difference in traffic lanes. Of the players who have had 10 or more blocked shots per game this season, only Davis has averaged three pass deflections per game.
on me finale episode From the Thinking Basketball podcast, Ben Taylor demonstrated how Davis can simultaneously interpret rim shots and passing passes using a technique once perfected by Hakeem Olajuwon.
When facing an opponent at the edge, Davis raises one hand vertically to challenge the shot and extends the other horizontally to guard against any potential last-second takedown passes.
At the team level, the Lakers have the ninth-lowest opponent’s edge frequency in the association (per glass cleaning)—a reflection of Davis’ ability to not only compete in shots but also to deter them from materializing completely.
Where is Anthony Davis in the league now?
Despite his outstanding statistical indicators, it is evident by watching that Davis has become less of the generation defender he had been the previous few seasons. Injuries and some added weight have reduced the speed of his jumps while increasing the stiffness in his movements, taking him away from his paint-protecting powers and ball-screen versatility a bit.
However, given the nature of his position (adults tend to have the most influence on defense) and comprehensive institutional knowledge, he’s probably still among the top 10 defensemen in the NBA today.
And when you pair that with his insanely effective size scoring and downstream effects caused by his inner charisma, you have a recipe for a player with an NBA-level solid performance.
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