Amid the Los Angeles Lakers' struggles to win and his struggles with back tightness, Anthony Davis got off to an impressive start to the 2022-23 season.

AD's first six games amounted to arguably his best stretch of two-way basketball since the bubble. He averaged 23.2 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, and 2.2 steals. He mitigated Nikola Jokic in the Lakers' first win. His overall defensive impact — evident via the numbers and eyeballs — placed him in early Defensive Player of the Year contention. His physicality and competitive fire were infectious, as Los Angeles competed hard and kept games close. Besides the losing and back pain, it was everything Darvin Ham — who repeatedly challenged AD to become the team's engine and leader — could have hoped for.

Air quickly started coming out of the balloon. In a loss to the Utah Jazz, Davis followed up a 20-point first half with a two-point second half on four field goal attempts. On the other end, the Lakers surrendered 130 points — a “huge step backwards,” per Ham.

48 hours later, AD dropped 17 before halftime on the Cleveland Cavaliers, leading the Lakers to a six-point advantage. He pushed around Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, drawing three fouls on each. But over the final two quarters? Two points, two shot attempts — the last coming four minutes into Q3. If he wasn't 6-foot-10, you'd be forgiven for forgetting he was out there. The Lakers' effort faded as AD lugged around aimlessly. They were outscored by 30 in the second half.

“Our spirit, it seemed to have left the building,” reflected Ham. “I thought what we saw in the first half is how we want to play. We were right there toe to toe with them … And then, second half, again, shots don’t go down, a few turnovers happen and we kind of dropped our heads.”

Afterward, the team exuded a mixture of confusion and annoyance regarding Davis' latest disappearing act.

“I don’t know whose primary job it is, to be honest,” Russell Westbrook said when asked how they can get AD the ball. “I’ll leave it up to the coaches to figure out the best way for them to utilize him.”

Ham rejected the notion that he wasn't calling AD's number.

“These guys are not rookies. … We have a playbook. We have a menu and a bunch of sets where AD can be featured. You have to just be organized … He's got my blessing to scream out, call his own number. We tried to get him going. … It's not like, ‘OK, you're just not calling plays for AD.' That's not the case.”

It wasn't hard to understand the message: Sometimes, the Lakers need Anthony Davis to simply go get the darn ball. When his intensity wanes, the team follows suit. (Davis declined to speak to the media.)

“Obviously, it starts with AD and getting him more touches,” LeBron James stated. “Our focal point is and always should be to make sure he touches the ball throughout the course of possessions, quarters, halves.”

Davis, to his credit, did seek more touches from the coaching staff. A day later, he took a team-high 18 shots (29 points) in another loss to the Jazz. (The Lakers had three starters out, rendering AD nearly impossible not to force-feed.)

“If a guy says he wants more touches and he’s of the caliber of Anthony Davis, then yeah, my ears are going to perk up and I’m going to see how I can get him the ball more,” Ham said. “I’m also going to communicate with his teammates, the guys who have the ball in their hands, to look for him more.”

Last Friday, however, was yet another step back. In his first opportunity to run the show without LeBron (out with injury), AD dropped 24 and 14 on the Sacramento Kings but only had two baskets on seven attempts after halftime. The Lakers accordingly melted down in the third quarter and gave away another winnable game.

“The energy around our locker room feels like 2-10,” said a forlorn Davis, which has been a common postgame mood for him since last season.

Per Silver Screen & Roll (via NBA.com), Davis leads the Lakers in points, shot attempts, and usage rate in first halves. After halftime, though, his production and usage significantly drop across the board (the dip was particularly staggering before Sunday).

To be fair, the Lakers are tasking AD with a heavy physical toll by playing him at center (which he doesn't love), often as the lone big in Ham's demanding drop system, all while uplifting an inconsistent supporting cast on both ends. The roster is bereft of lasers, large wings, and girth underneath. Then again, superstars are capable of handling preposterous workloads.

“Guys like (Kendrick Nunn), guys like (Austin Reaves), (Matt Ryan), (Juan Toscano-Anderson), all these guys, they gotta step up,” challenged Ham a few days ago. “We gotta step up and help our big dogs. Everyone’s trying to fight, but again, you can’t get down on yourself. … Russ has been phenomenal. And we need to get him help. We need to get Bron help. We need to get AD help.”

Ham often cites “things they can't control” (i.e. missed open shots) and “self-inflicted wounds” (i.e. turnovers, poor shot selection, defensive miscues) when assessing failures. Certainly, those have been problems.

But things start and end with Anthony Davis, as the entire organization knows. In addition to injuries, he has been prone to lulls in the past, leading to criticism for his perceived disengagement and passivity and concerns about his conditioning. The Lakers lose their vigor and defensive identity when AD goes missing. Effort is one thing players can truly control.

All of this is why it's so intoxicating when he activates Bubble Mode, as he did in Sunday's 116-103 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. With LeBron still sidelined, AD, motivated by his beloved Green Bay Packers, went full Greg Jennings and put the team on his (gimpy) back: 37 points, 15-of-25 shooting, 18 rebounds (10 offensive, tied for his career high and more than the Nets). It was his highest single-game point total since May 2021.

“I was watching the Green Bay Packers game … and Aaron Rodgers threw a slant to Allen Lazard for 40 yards,” an atypically upbeat Davis shared. “And he started (screaming noises) and flexing and it got me some motivation before the game … knowing that we had to get this win.”

He made all seven of his free throws and, wisely, did not attempt a 3-pointer. As The Athletic's Jovan Buha pointed out, 23 of his 25 shots came in the paint. His offensive arsenal was on full display: big-boy slams, nifty post moves, pick-and-roll finishes. Clinical, mean stuff. Notably, he kept his foot on the gas in the second half: 21 points (15 in the third), 9-0f-13 FG.

“I was trying to get to the paint and score inside, knowing that they had limited shot-blocking,” Davis said. “Just trying to be dominant in the paint.”

Not surprisingly, the supporting cast thrived around him, including Lonnie Walker IV (25 points), Westbrook (15 points, 12 assists, and Austin Reaves (15 points).

All in all, it was a refreshingly monstrous showing from the nine-time All-Star.

“For AD, he has to be the one to spearhead our starting group,” reiterated Ham. “I thought he did that. Everything was aggressive to the rim. I told him, ‘Don’t settle.’ … He’s been a monster and he’s carried us.”

“AD played like a monster tonight,” Patrick Beverley added. “And everyone played off of him.”

Granted, the Nets are a porous interior defensive team that was playing without Ben Simmons on the second night of a back-to-back. They largely guarded AD one-on-one. Still, the combination of his attitude and repertoire resembled a superstar and a leader.

“'I got your back, Coach,'” Ham said Davis assured him after the Kings loss. “That was huge for me being a first-time head coach and having a player of that magnitude just constantly try and do everything you ask him to do.”

Now, the Lakers just need Anthony Davis to do all of that basically every minute of every game for the rest of the season. That's all.