The most talked about franchise in the association is finally close to welcoming a vital player back to their lineup. After missing 16 games, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis' status has been upgraded to questionable for their Sunday night contest against the Miami Heat. With the Lakers continually racking up horrific losses, they sorely miss the two-way presence of Davis.
He struggled at the early juncture of the season, but these last few weeks of the regular season will dictate how far the Lakers can advance this season. A play-in berth seems like a lock, but the fanbase from the city of Angels has championship expectations every year. With the lack of continuity among Davis, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook, this East Coast road trip is the perfect stretch to find their rhythm and chemistry with an almost complete lineup already.
AD's defense is sensational
Even with their unfortunate first round exit last season, the Lakers were the best defensive team in the league. Currently, they have dipped to 19th in defensive rating, which is a terrible ranking for an organization with championship aspirations. The versatility and brilliance of Davis on defense has been severely missed, especially with numerous subpar defenders on the roster.
The construction of the current Lakers squad is vastly different from the previous iterations, so Davis' defensive prowess would be even a bit more magnified. A ton of the success of L.A. stems from their small-ball lineups with either James or Stanley Johnson at the five, thus Davis will likely play majority of his minutes at center. The difficulty with James or Johnson handling the middle was their rim protection and rebounding, which are both the strengths of Davis.
Reliable floor spacing
The decision of David Fizdale and Frank Vogel to downsize has been due to the Lakers' personnel and lack of shooting around James and Westbrook. It has sacrificed their ability to play on the other end though, which has caused them to lose critical games. With Davis' return, there would be less difficulty in choosing to play a big without shooting or downsizing to bolster their scoring because Davis excels on both ends.
Davis has struggled with his jump shot before his injury, but he has proven to be an excellent and reliable on his in-between game and occasional long range bombs. He just needs a bit more time and confidence to elevate his efficiency to a similar level in their 2020 Bubble championship run. For Vogel to continue running an unstoppable small-ball lineup, Davis must be a dangerous threat with his outside shooting, especially as the playoffs are fast approaching.
Top-10 talent in the league
The national media would usually classify Davis as a top 5 talent in the NBA, but due to his recent struggles, a top 10 position is still a bit more respectable. There are games wherein Davis has portrayed his sheer dominance and talent, such as the 2020 West Finals and Finals against the Denver Nuggets and Heat, respectively. Michael Malone and Erik Spoelstra tried to construct various defensive schemes to prevent Davis from flourishing, but it was not plausible.
Even with all the turmoil surrounding Westbrook and Vogel, the arrival of Davis can shut all the haters up and formulate new recipe for success. James has been carrying the load offensively over the past month, but Davis could lessen the load on the 37-year old legend. Davis' repertoire is also incredible because he could utilize a plethora of moves in any zone of the floor based on how defenses are set.
It is a far and insurmountable task for the Lakers to reach the performance of the Phoenix Suns or Golden State Warriors, but the Lakers could be a dark horse in the biggest stage. The pressure mounts in the NBA Playoffs and L.A. is one franchise that would not fold and just give up with the brightest lights on them. Their roster needs a ton of retooling before the playoffs, but anything is possible with three superstars on the lineup.
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