On Sunday afternoon, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers dropped their post All-Star break record to a disappointing 1-2 with a frustrating road loss to the Phoenix Suns, playing from behind essentially the whole game. Although he finished with a respectable stat line of 22 points and 14 rebounds, Davis started extremely slow in this one, part of the reason why the Lakers found themselves behind the eight ball so early on in the loss vs the Suns.

Still, after the game, fellow Lakers starter Austin Reaves went on the defensive when discussing Davis' performance, assuring that the big man's presence was still felt even if his shot wasn't falling in the first half of the contest.

“It was a slow start for him, but what he demands on the floor, the attention, the defensive effort, contesting shots… I don't think AD can have a ‘horrible' half just because of what he means defensively,” said Reaves, per Lakers Nation on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.

It's certainly worth mentioning, as Reaves pointed out, that even when Anthony Davis isn't shooting the ball particularly well, his sheer presence on the floor does open up a lot of opportunities for his Lakers teammates, including Reaves, who had a solid afternoon on Sunday.

Much in the same way that Stephen Curry opens up looks for his teammates on the Golden State Warriors, it's in the Lakers' best interests for Anthony Davis to keep shooting even if his shots aren't falling at a high clip.