Anthony Davis is known for his versatile offensive game, being able to score from basically anywhere, while also being one of the best overall defenders the NBA has to offer. But lately, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has been showing off another much improved aspect of his game in his passing ability.
Davis dished out nine assists to go along with his 28 points and 12 rebounds in the Lakers’ 17-point win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. In fact, Davis has had at least five assists in four of the last five games, including a career-high 11 against the Utah Jazz Saturday night.
LeBron James has an idea of why Davis is improving his assist numbers and it involves learning from one of the greatest passers in NBA history.
“He’s learning from me how to pass out of the post,” LeBron said after the victory. “I’m serious. He’s been working on it, and it’s great. Teams are gonna stop doubling him soon.
“As long as we make shots out there for him, teams will stop doubling him. It’s our job to make sure we’re in the right position at the right time when he gets doubled. We have a numbers game, it’s gonna be a four-on-three on the backside, so we have to put ourselves in position.”
As LeBron said, the key is the rest of the Lakers making outside shots. Having to account for shooters will only make it more difficult for opponents to double-team him and open up the paint even more. And that will allow Davis to go one-on-one in the post more regularly, where there is practically no one who can stop him on a consistent basis.
Davis making teams pay for double-teams makes the Lakers’ offense that much more dangerous, but the shooters have to make shots. It helps that LeBron himself is having a career year from 3-point range, but other shooters like D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Taurean Prince and Christian Wood have to consistently knock down their open looks as well. Doing so will take the Lakers’ offense to another level.
Anthony Davis believes defense will be key for success with Lakers starting lineup
The return to the Lakers original starting lineup certainly provides the necessary shooting potential. But Davis feels the key to success will be on the other side of the ball.
“I think for us, it’s just on the defensive end. If we play defense how we did tonight against anybody then we’ll put ourselves in position to win basketball games. So the defense I think is most important and we play off of that. Whether it’s in transition or playing through me, playing through Bron, AR, whoever, I think the defense is what is gonna separate us and get us more wins than losses.”
Davis also noted that everyone chipping in on the glass, where the Lakers have often struggled this year, will be key for the starters as well.
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