The luxury of having Anthony Davis on your roster for the Los Angeles Lakers is that he is able to do almost anything on the floor.
Davis can play either at the four or at the five, though he expects to start at center during the 2021-22 season. But as far as skills go, Davis can score inside and out and defensively he is a game-changer because of his ability to defend the rim and out on the perimeter.
However, one underrated aspect of his game is his handle and playmaking as he has the tools necessary to set up the team when they get stops. Carmelo Anthony explained how that can help the Los Angeles Lakers offensively.
“I think that’s the beauty of having him at the five. He can get it off the board, he can push it and he can initiate the offense. Early offense. It takes the big man away from the basketball. Spread the floor out. He can shoot, he can drive, he can handle it. He gives us a different dynamic at the five.”
Head coach Frank Vogel echoed Anthony’s assessment and even seems to encourage Davis to bring the ball up more. “Yeah, he did that a lot last year when LeBron was out. And we learned a lot of just different options that we can go to when he brings the ball up. And we want him to have the confidence to rebound and push.
“The biggest thing is that we want to play with pace and attack, you know? So he has that confidence, he has that skillset to do so and he actually did it more, when we did it last year, he was doing it more at the forward position. He did it some at the five, which just gives us even more space, but obviously a lot of areas we can do that.”
Having Davis with the ball in the middle changes the geometry on the floor and it is definitely something he and the Lakers should explore more.
Anthony Davis’s first impression playing with Carmelo Anthony
Although Los Angeles lost to the Phoenix Suns in their second preseason game, the team got their first look at Anthony. The veteran looked solid in his minutes, and Davis shared his thoughts on playing next to him.
“Yeah, it felt good though,” Davis said. “But me and him working together trying to figure out what we do on both ends of the floor. A little hesitation both of us. We’ve never played with each other before, so we’re trying to figure that out, but we’re constantly talking to each other. … The more we communicate what we want to do, the easier it’ll be as the season progresses.”
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