The Lakers are just one game away from playing in the conference finals. After beating the Warriors this past morning, the team of LeBron James and Darvin Ham has managed to turn the season around after the moves in February. Although it has not been any of the signings, nor LeBron or Ham the protagonists. It is Anthony Davis who has ensured that Los Angeles is one victory away from qualifying for the next round.
He has been accused of being irregular, of playing one game well and the other badly, but the reality is different. To date Anthony Davis has played ten games in the 2023 playoffs and only three have been bad: the second and fourth games against Memphis (1-1) and the second against the Warriors (0-1). In the other seven he has played well, very well or by far the man of the game, and the Lakers have won six, with the only loss coming in Game 5 of the first round to the Grizzlies. He is averaging 21.4 points with 14 rebounds and 3.7 blocks, leading the playoffs in the last two stats, shooting a towering 52.6% despite going 3/11 on 3-pointers. His performance is only behind Devin Booker, Jimmy Butler or Nikola Jokic. And most importantly, he has earned ownership of the team.
Whether it’s LeBron’s age or Davis’ level, these Lakers are owned by AD. And his level is really what marks the intention of the team, and the options to compete. Steve Kerr’s defensive adjustments came to slow Davis’ impact on defense, not to counter LeBron James. Something unthinkable until recently, to imagine that there would be a player with greater effect in a series in the same locker room as LeBron James. That’s the level of Anthony Davis right now, and when he’s in good health, he’s one of the best insiders on the planet.
When the Lakers won the ring in 2020, in the Disney bubble, Anthony Davis was on many occasions the most important player of those Lakers, but the ball still passed through the hands of LeBron James. The main difference between that team and the current squad were the secondaries: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green, Alex Caruso or Kyle Kuzma were executors, and even JaVale McGee and Dwight Howards, natural centers, were important. All of them needed a primary generator to start the attack, and 30.4% of the plays were finished by James. In 2023, the main secondaries need the ball to make a difference.
D’Angelo Russell, Dennis Schröder and Austin Reaves, three of the top four scorers behind the Lakers’ two superstars, have very low efficiency and catch-and-shoot percentages, for example, unlike Green or Kuzma in 2020. Only Rui Hachimura (44% frequency, 61.5% effectiveness) fills that role. Even Lonnie Walker IV made four of his six dribble shots yesterday. And that is why the ball passes less through the hands of LeBron James, with 68.8 touches per game, his lowest number since this figure was quantified in 2014. In the previous seven playoff years, James had always had at least 17 Difference possessions with his teammates, except for 2016 when Kyrie had just six less. This year, AD and D’Angelo Russell are only three behind, and Reaves is twelve.
It’s the lowest usage percentage of his playoff career, finishing just 26.6% of the snaps, whether on shots, free throws or turnovers. In 2011 alone, in his first year in Miami, he was below 29%, and he has exceeded 30% eleven of the 16 times he has played in the postseason. The Lakers are finally a collective, a team, and not the sum of its stars. And they have understood that their best level comes when they are able to get the best version of their best player, Anthony Davis. It remains to be seen what will happen when they reach a tight end, if the ball will go to their hands or will LeBron James still play it.
All data is from NBA.com y PBPstats.com
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