One of the biggest storylines after the Los Angeles Lakers conducted their annual media day this year was Anthony Davis finally confirming that he is, indeed, going to play the five more this season. This is certainly good news for Lakers fans because Davis, who’s often preferred to play the four throughout his career, is in a better position to succeed while playing center. 

“There was the expectation and that was discussed, and I expect to play center,” Davis said. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen. Me and (head coach) Frank (Vogel) talked about it a couple of times and that’s the plan. Right now, nothing is set in stone but we want to see what that looks like, and I’m comfortable with that,” said Davis, who’s entering his 10th season in the league. 

Even if it’s not clear whether Davis will start at center or not, him spending more time in this position will still do wonders for the team. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Lakers were 11.8 points per 100 possessions better when Davis played at the 5 compared to when he played the four. The team’s spacing, shooting and most importantly defense is just so much better when the Brow slides in at the five. That said, here are three (3) reasons why the league should worry about defending the Lakers when Davis plays the five: 

 

Most teams do not have an answer for Davis 

Davis is the type of unicorn-big in today’s game that’s too agile for big defenders and too huge for the small ones. His playoff run in the bubble a year ago, where he played the five frequently, gave the Lakers’ opponents nightmares because they had no answer for him. When it comes to defense, Davis is not the type to be abused by the offense unlike Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee and now Deandre Jordan. AD is rarely picked on and when teams even attempt to do so, good luck. 

 

It maximizes the the Lakers’ trio

Having LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Davis on the Lakers does not really make them a three point threat unless Davis slides to the five. When AD plays the five, it opens up two spots on the lineup that can be used for the shooters (Wayne Ellington, Kent Bazemore, Malik Monk, Kendrick Nunn and even Carmelo Anthony) the Lakers acquired which will maximize their offense. 

Imagine the attention that Westbrook, Davis and James will draw and the fact that these shooters are also lurking in the corner? That’s a tough task for any defense. It also helps that James and Westbrook are arguably the two best passers in the game today. According to PBP stats, Westbrook assisted on the fourth most corner threes last season and was tied with Luka Doncic for the second most assist to shooters who scored behind the arc. 

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This Lakers team’s offense with Davis at the five is just dynamic. James and Westbrook will have their shooters, Davis can impose his will inside and it also opens the lane for both Westbrook and James to drive to the rim. 

 

It sets the tone for the team

Davis’ willingness to play center more this season implies that he is ready to sacrifice and is going all-in for his revenge campaign. This was the same mindset in his first year with the Lakers after getting traded by New Orleans. In that championship season for the Lakers, Davis played the five 40% of the time. Last season when he was coming off the shortest offseason in sports history, AD only played the five for 9% in the regular season. The disparity between both seasons was massive. 

And now that Davis is starting off this season by confirming that he is indeed going to play more at center, it shows that he’s not messing around. The Lakers need a well-rested and vengeful Anthony Davis in order to achieve their goal and not the passive one that showed up last season. When a team captain shows that he is willing to do whatever it takes to win then he sets an example for the whole team. This is the type of mentality Davis and the Lakers for them to win a championship.

At least based on the pictures and videos on media day, Davis looks like he put a lot of work on his body this offseason. The Brow himself did mention that his goal was to get his body right and it looks like he did just that. This is an important season for AD because it’s his time to show why he’s still in fact one of the top five best players in the game.