Why Anthony Davis Will Prove Critics Wrong amid Latest NBA Rumors
The Los Angeles Lakers are off to an 0-2 start to the 2022-23 season after they dropped their home opener to the Los Angeles Clippers 103-97 on Thursday night. That came after the Lakers fell to the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.
So far, there have been quite a few concerning performances for Los Angeles.
Russell Westbrook tallied only two points on Thursday, going 0-for-11 from the field, which included an 0-for-6 showing on 3-pointers. The Lakers as a whole aren't shooting well from beyond the arc, as they're 19-for-85 (22.4 percent) on treys through two games.
Patrick Beverley has scored only eight total points on 2-for-12 shooting. Los Angeles has gotten only 43 points from its bench. And of course, the biggest issue is that the team didn't win either game.
But one thing the Lakers shouldn't be worried about? The play of Anthony Davis.
That apparently has been an internal concern for Los Angeles. According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, the Lakers may not have been too impressed with what they saw from Davis when he was on the court last season.
"Apart from missing more games that he played in for the Lakers the last two seasons, there was a sentiment within the team's front office last season that Davis didn't look like the franchise player they thought they had coming off the 2020 championship, sources said," McMenamin wrote.
Davis played an instrumental role in leading Los Angeles to a championship while in the NBA bubble at the end of the 2019-20 season. He averaged 27.7 points and 9.7 rebounds in 21 playoff games that year while shooting 57.1 percent from the floor.
As the Lakers went 33-49 in the 2021-22 season, Davis was limited to 40 games because of injury. He averaged 23.2 points and 9.9 rebounds and shot 53.2 percent from the field when he was on the court.
The 29-year-old is capable of more than that, and he's already shown that in the first week of this season. He looked great in the season opener against the Warriors, in which he tallied 27 points, six rebounds, four steals and a block.
In Thursday's loss to the Clippers, Davis had 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting while tallying eight rebounds and a steal. He also made two of his four three-point attempts.
If Davis stays healthy, his old self should be back. He's an eight-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA selection because he's a talented player, and he's shown that in flashes since coming to the Lakers ahead of the 2019-20 season.
That's the caveat, though. Los Angeles has nothing to worry about regarding Davis' play as long as he stays healthy.
Davis, who missed three preseason games because of back soreness, landed hard on his back during a play in the third quarter on Thursday. But he finished the game and told reporters, "Pretty sure I'll be all right."
As long as that's true, Davis' play will be all right, too. The Lakers likely need to make some moves to improve their roster if they hope to get back to the playoffs this season, but Davis should remain part of their core, as he's a top player when he's on the court.
So expect Davis to prove any critics wrong while showing the organization that he can get back to that level of play he displayed when healthy late in the 2019-20 season. He was injured too often last season to show that form, but that could be different this year.
