While the Los Angeles Lakers currently sit at 2-10, that record could be much better if the team knew how to execute late and close out games.
That has been a huge struggle for the Lakers so far on this young season, which is a bit of a surprise considering they are a veteran group led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
A big reason for the Lakers’ offensive struggles in the second halves has been Davis’ inability to get going though. The big man has often been dominant in first halves before disappearing offensively after halftime.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why that is happening and Davis has previously spoken about the need to be more aggressive and demand the ball to avoid it.
That’s tough to do though when teams are double-teaming you every time you touch it which has often been the case, especially in the recent loss to the Sacramento Kings when James was not playing.
After the game, Davis spoke about what he can do to beat those double teams to avoid long scoring droughts.
“They’re usually sending double teams so the early post-ups that we have in the first halves, third quarters, rarely works because they’re sending double teams and forcing it to wherever I decide to go besides a jump shot, the other defender is gonna be there,” Davis said. “Pick-and-rolls are the same way. They’re making me kick it out to guys to shoot jumpshots. We shot the ball pretty well from 3 tonight. But yeah, just trying to figure it out. We ran a couple actions tonight but then they just switch and try to front to where I don’t even get the ball. So it’s my job to figure out how to navigate that but at the same time, if I do I have to make the right play whether it’s kicking it out to a shooter, one time I kicked it out to Russ and he made a 3, another time I drove baseline and got the shot over Sabonis.
“So you got to pick and choose but just trying to navigate that and figure out different ways to get the ball where it might not be a post-up, might not be a pick-and-roll with a screen and I’m rolling and then guys are right there in the paint. So just trying to figure that out and see what works.”
This is not something Davis hasn’t seen before, but he can’t break it himself as his teammates will need to knock down open shots when he finds them.
Even despite it all, Davis is still averaging 23.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.0 blocks as he is off to another solid start for L.A.
Davis dealt with 102 fever before playing
Davis almost didn’t play in the game against the Kings due to the non-COVID illness that has been going around the Lakers locker room. He was able to tough it out thought and discussed what he was actually dealing with.
“Felt fine, was kind of gassed a little bit in the first half. Was just trying to hydrate. Woke up, having kids, with school and everything, they brought it home so I had a nice little 102 fever and just tried to do everything I can to rest and get ready for the game. Was able to get through it.”
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