Anthony Davis, when healthy, has been mostly awesome for the Los Angeles Lakers this season. He has carried the team through stretches without LeBron James, including over the past few weeks, during which he has shifted from MVP-caliber dominance to laudatory unselfishness. On Sunday, the former would have been useful.
AD personally shouldered the blame for the Lakers' 112-108 loss to the New York Knicks, which halted a three-game winning streak and slowed the team's overall momentum (on a night when the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder earned Ws). Davis finished with 17 points on 8-of-18 shooting to go along with 16 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.
In crunch time, the Lakers needed AD to flip back into Beast Mode. Instead, his lone final-period bucket came on an alley-oop with 46.1 seconds left. He was 1-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Austin Reaves ↗️ Anthony Davis 💥pic.twitter.com/jWFuhJuC9x
— LakeShow (@LakeShowCP) March 13, 2023
“My play,” Davis responded when asked why his team lost. “I wasn’t there. I played terrible. Couldn’t find my shot: free throws, layups, everything. The guys did their job. I didn’t do my job tonight.”
In the Lakers' win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday, Davis earned plaudits from Darvin Ham, D'Angelo Russell, and Austin Reaves for his “selfless” approach. AD had eight points on seven field goal attempts and comfortably ceded the spotlight as Wenyen Gabriel and the second unit pulled away in the fourth.
For all the changes the Lakers have worked through since the trade deadline, the past week has acted as a microcosm of AD's season. He has been supreme on defense and the glass (as he was vs. the Knicks), yet he has fluctuated between outright destruction and underwhelming production.
Dennis Schroder, FWIW, placed the onus on the entire ballclub.
“It’s everybody in this locker room,” he said.
“When we lose, we lose as a team. When we win, we win as a team. But, AD, he tries to be great at all times and he has been, 90 percent of the time, great for us. … So, he can't put it on himself.”
In recent triumphs over the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies, AD powered his way to Shaquille O'Neal-level performances and kept his foot on the gas in the clutch. Yet, his late-game disappearance vs. the Knicks recalls early early-season concerns about second-half passivity. (On the other end, Julius Randle and RJ Barrett combined for 63 points.)
AD's unselfishness vs. Toronto was received well on the court and in the locker room. But, as long as LeBron remains sidelined (no walking boot anymore!), the Lakers need Davis to be overly narcissistic — even when D'Angelo Russell (33 points) can't miss. (Certainly, Troy Brown Jr. and Malik Beasley combining to shoot 2-of-15 from 3 were as damaging as Davis' shortcomings.)
Once NBA action wrapped for the night, the Lakers (33-35) found themselves in a four-way tie for the No. 9 seed with 14 games left.
“We have time, but we can’t waste any more time,” asserted Ham. “We can’t waste any more games.”
Nobody should suddenly count out the Lakers or Davis because they came up a bit short against a quality Knicks team. Nobody should panic. Davis just has to put the ball in the hole a few more times. Not that complicated.
“It’s basketball,” acknowledged Reaves. “Overall, I thought we competed well. Had a chance, but didn’t have enough. You win some, you lose some. … If we compete and stick to who we are as a team, we’ll be fine.”
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