After a productive trade deadline, there's a renewed sense of energy around the Los Angeles Lakers. That showed in a big way on Saturday night, when the Lakers managed to outduel the Golden State Warriors by a score of 109-103 in a game where LeBron James didn't play and Anthony Davis struggled from the floor.
Despite shooting just 5/19 from the field and scoring 13 points, Davis found a way to make an impact on this game on the defensive side of the ball. Davis was playing strong interior defense all night long, hauling in 16 total rebounds, 14 of which were defensive, while also blocking three shots. After the game, Davis highlighted how his shift in mentality on defense helped propel the Lakers to a victory.
Anthony Davis on his game vs Warriors: 'I just shifted my mindset to the defensive end… I just wanted to go down and get every rebound and block every shot.' pic.twitter.com/HqOKcLaxK3
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) February 12, 2023
Davis has always been one of the better interior defenders in the league, and on a night where his shots simply were not falling, he found a way to make a big impact on defense. With Stephen Curry once again wasn't on the floor for the Warriors, Davis' strong defense in the paint ended up tilting the scales in the Lakers favor.
Moving forward, Davis isn't always going to shoot just over 25 percent from the floor, but if he can continue to play defense at this high level, the Lakers will benefit greatly from that. Davis is going to play a big role in determining whether or not Los Angeles can actually go on a playoff run throughout the remainder of the season, and it may be his defense, not his offense, that helps him lead his team to wins.
Follow Us
Subscribe