MVP-like Anthony Davis carries Lakers back on track / News - Basketnews.com

After a horrendous start of the season, the Lakers looked like a much better team. Most of the credit has to go to Anthony Davis, who's playing at an MVP level. The last time Davis was so decisive for the Lakers, they won an NBA title. Could this happen again?

Credit: AFP-Scanpix Credit AFP-Scanpix

When the NBA season was about to start, heavy clouds were hanging over the Los Angeles Lakers. Tension was rising, especially surrounding the situation of Russell Westbrook. The former Oklahoma City Thunder superstar had become probably one of the biggest issues of the current version of the Lakers.

Points this season

47%114,2Points made:114,2Accuracy:47,0%Place in standings:12Record max:143Record min:97Best scorer:Anthony DavisTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

Rumors of a potential trade to send him away were swinging around for the entire offseason, but in the end, he remained on the roster. Still, the chemistry between him and the rest of the team looked already compromised, and the offseason addition of Pat Beverley didn't help to improve the situation.

The Lakers started the season in a disastrous way, losing 10 of the first 12 regular season games. The defense looked absolutely lost, and the lineups with Westbrook, Davis, and James all together were terrible from an offensive perspective.

Many fans were ready to see the team going on an even worse losing streak and watching some of the stars going away via trade. But the recent weeks have seen a major improvement from the team.

Don't get me wrong, the Lakers are still a team with many issues, starting from their transition defense, and they're still out of the playoff picture.

The bookies think similarly. As of today, the Lakers are +2500 (26.00) to win the Western Conference.

But in the last 11 games, the Lakers have a record of 8 wins and only three losses, and they've been playing like a team that actually has a chance of making it to the postseason.

The main reason behind this recent improvement has been the incredible level of the performance of Anthony Davis.

When the Lakers traded for Davis in the summer of 2019, the idea was that the former New Orleans Pelicans big man would have been the right man to have next to LeBron James to bring back the title to Los Angeles.

Davis definitely didn't disappoint in his first season as a Laker, despite all the difficulties related to the Covid pandemic.

Los Angeles Lakers / Schedule

Milwaukee Bucks Los Angeles Lakers129-133 Washington Wizards Los Angeles Lakers119-130 Cleveland Cavaliers Los Angeles Lakers116-102 Toronto Raptors Los Angeles Lakers126-113 Philadelphia 76ers Los Angeles LakersSat00:30 Detroit Pistons Los Angeles LakersSun23:00

The Lakers won the NBA title in the Orlando bubble, and Davis was a key factor in that triumph. But in the past two years, Davis went through many physical issues, and his numbers weren't among the best of his career.

Meanwhile, the Lakers looked like a team far away from being competitive enough to fight for the title.

However, in the season's most difficult moment, he decided to take all the responsibilities and put the team on his shoulders.

In the last 10 games, his numbers are absolutely crazy. The former Pelicans superstar is averaging 31.3 points, 14.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, and 2.7 assists per game in this stretch.

When we look at the entire season, Davis is currently the eleventh-best scorer in the NBA with 27.3 points per game and the best rebounding guy in league with 12.3 boards per game.

And that includes his 8-minute cameo vs. the Cavaliers, in which he scored only 1 point and grabbed 3 boards.

In the back-to-back games played against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Washington Wizards, Davis was absolutely unstoppable and had two performances for the ages.

Against Giannis Antetokounmpo, Davis finished with 44 points, 10 rebounds, and shot 66% from 3-point, leading the Lakers to the win.

The following day he outperformed himself, scoring 55 points with 17 rebounds against the Wizards. In both games, he had at least 3 blocks and became the first player in the history of the Lakers to have 40+ points, 10+ rebounds, and 3+ blocks in back-to-back games.

Some aspects have been crucial in this striking series of performances. First of all, Davis has missed only two games this season. As noted before, Davis' health has always been a question mark, especially in the past two seasons.

His willingness to play through some pain is fundamental for the current version of the Lakers. Without him, they simply cannot go as far as they need to.

Another critical element to notice is the fact that Davis is finally embracing the idea of playing as the center of the team.

For the majority of his career, Davis has always preferred to play alongside another big man, refusing the idea that his best game could have come from playing as the center.

This season, the Kentucky alumn has more room to operate without the presence of another big man to clog the space inside.

No Dwight Howard, no DeAndre Jordan. Davis is now the true center of the team, with Thomas Bryant playing as his backup coming off the bench.

In addition, Russell Westbrook now looks more comfortable with coming off the bench, making the Lakers' starting lineups more effective.

"My body feels great. It's just being locked in, staying with a mindset of being aggressive", the Lakers star said in a recent interview. "Whatever I got to do to help the team win, whether that's scoring, rebounding, blocking shots. Whatever it is, I'm just trying to do my part".

The feeling that someone gets watching the Lakers in the past few weeks is that Davis is just being more aggressive, accepting to attack the rim with greater continuity.

The Lakers are taking advantage of this situation and are using much more Davis in pick & roll situations since the big man is one of the best finishers in the entire league.

His teammates are giving him all the confidence in the world, and they clearly see the difference in his performances.

"I just think he's just hit a switch where he knows how dominant he can be, night in and night out," LeBron James told the Athletic about Davis. "He has everything working for him right now."

When the Lakers won the 2020 NBA title, Anthony Davis was selected for both All-NBA First Team and the All-NBA Defensive First team.

Now, it looks like the former Pelicans big man is finding that type of dominant form again. He recently won the Player of the Week award for the first time since 2019, and he has been clearly one of the best players, if not the best, in the past month.

Of course, playing for the Lakers means that these types of awards mean very little, especially for the fans.

The only important thing is winning another NBA title because that's the expectation when you play for the Lakers, even more so when you play alongside LeBron James. And Davis is fully aware of the expectations.

"To win a championship, that's it, that's the goal. If your mindset is on winning a championship, the rest will take care of itself", Davis stated.

Whether the Lakers have another shot at the title will be determined by how consistent they'll be in the following months.

They're trying to get out of that early's season disaster, but they're not completely out of that swamp yet. With the date of December 15 approaching, the possibility of a trade cannot be ruled out.

Most of the players that signed as free agents during the offseason will become eligible for a trade. The Lakers recently created some room inside the roster in order to be ready for that possibility.

Meanwhile, the Lakers know that if Davis and James keep this level, they have a shot at being part of the playoff picture when the most crucial moments will arrive. Of course, both of them need to stay healthy in order to do so, something that recently hasn't been exactly a given.

But considering how bad their season had started, the current situation feels already like a major improvement. At the end of the day, the last time that Anthony Davis was playing this well, they won the NBA title. Maybe history will be in the mood for a repeat.

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