Davis and doubts with Lakers franchise

The arrival of Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers changed the NBA map two seasons ago. The Los Angeles team went from being a promising prospect to become, with a few more changes in its roster, an instant contender. LeBron James came to have the ideal partner who, at just 26 years old, was in the prime of his career and guaranteed him the possibility of eventually becoming the heir to King LeBron.

Someone who would be the leader in the future to replace the leader of the moment.

The title won in the first season playing together put to rest those speculations that the Lakers had mortgaged the future for one player. AD and LeBron were champions in their first attempt playing together, while the New Orleans Pelicans have not been able to enter the playoffs in all this time. However, that illusion of Davis taking up the torch currently carried by the King doesn’t seem to be as firm as the accomplishments made in the 2019/20 season.

Injuries to key players have been decisive in raising doubts about his leadership ability. And they are not unfounded. In the 16 games so far this season, the Lakers have played 10 games without James with a negative record: 4 wins and 6 losses.

Beyond the cold statistics, what is worrying is that several of the losses have been heavy and when Davis was supposed to step up, take ownership of the team and be able to mitigate the absence of the leader. So far that is not happening.

Could it be then that the heir apparent has outgrown the leadership role?

Let’s see.

Are the Lakers Davis’ team when LeBron isn’t around?
We’ve always been clear that the superhero suit isn’t for everyone. It’s too big for certain players.

As many as there are in the NBA who have signed max contracts, not all of those who have received them have been able to justify their status as stars or franchise players.

Many of these max-contract players are more effective as the second fiddle in the orchestra than as the soloist who gets all the attention. Soloists include LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo to name the most notable. Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard (when healthy), Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, could also belong to that elite. And where do we leave Anthony Davis?

This young season he has shown certain weaknesses in terms of his status as a leader that AD has not been able to disguise. After the lapidary loss to Minnesota he had strong words: “We suck. We don’t defend. That’s not just in this third quarter, it’s every third quarter we’ve played this season. We came out slow, sloppy defensively. We have to come together. We have to do a better job.”

Those are the words of a leader, no doubt. But leadership is not measured by the weight of his words but by the reaction they elicit from his teammates. And after that game, the Lakers received an average of 112 points from their rivals, adding two losses (Chicago and Milwaukee) and a hard-fought win against San Antonio, which shows that the weight of his words is not the same as if they were spoken by LeBron.

Without LeBron, when his averages were expected to rise, AD accumulated 22.6 points (-2.4), 10.5 rebounds (-0.6), 1.8 blocks (-0.6) and a negative plus-minus of -7.9. Undoubtedly, a sign that he has not been able to step up to disguise the absence of the leader, something that Kobe Bryant did, for example, when Shaquille O’Neal was not on the court.

But the most curious thing is that the numbers also fall when it comes to showing his aggressiveness. His attempts at the basket dropped from 20.1 attempts per game with LeBron to 16.8 without the King. Their presence at the free throw line dropped from 6 to 5.6 per game when LeBron is gone.

And most dramatically, in the last three losses to Minnesota, Chicago and Milwaukee, he only took 13, 9 and 15 shots respectively. Very little for someone who should be his team’s first scoring option.

AD vs. Giannis
Two seasons ago, in the discussion of the NBA’s most decisive big men, they had Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo as two of the main protagonists.

However, the end of the season made it clear that the first two were the axis of the discussion. One finished as regular season MVP, while the other was an NBA champion with a leading role.

In Davis’ favor is the following statistic: he is the only NBA player averaging 20 PPJ, 10 RPJ and 2 blocks per game this season. Over the last 10, he totals 7 different seasons with such averages. The rest of the NBA has a grand total of zero.

Although the heights reached by the Greek Freak in the two years following Davis’ coronation has put things in perspective. Not only did Giannis add a second consecutive MVP award, but he was also a champion with Milwaukee, leading the way and becoming the most valuable player in the Finals.