Lakers News: Anthony Davis Talks Recent Funk, Learning from LeBron James, More
NBA champions don't take in-season tests.
If they did, though, the Los Angeles Lakers would've aced their exam with Thursday's 113-106 road win over the Milwaukee Bucks. While Anthony Davis wasn't at his best (more on that in a moment), LeBron James picked up the slack and then some, scoring 34 points, dropping eight dimes, splashing six triples and snatching six boards.
Yeah, it's good to be the King.
But Davis' recent skid is worth exploring, so we'll do dig into that and more news nuggets around this club.
Anthony Davis Self-Diagnoses Recent Skid
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Slump is a relative term in the basketball world.
Just look at what's going on with Davis. His last three games qualify as a mini-funk, as he told reporters, with his field-goal percentage down to 38.0 and his three-point tally featuring zero makes on four attempts. He's misfiring on open looks and even struggling to hit his free throws (14-of-22, 63.6 percent).
But again, superstars don't slump the same way as mere mortals. Even with the shooting woes, he's averaging 17.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists.
Davis wasn't the only Laker who struggled Thursday night. Dennis Schroder went 2-of-10. Kyle Kuzma was 2-of-6. Coach Frank Vogel felt the production was rough enough to tell reporters, "We have to play better."
This all ties into the luxurious life of the Lakers, though. Davis wasn't himself, so James handled superstar duties. The team wasn't at its best, and it still knocked off the wins leader from the past two seasons.
Life is good in L.A.
Davis' Game Still Growing Thanks to LeBron James
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Davis' unibrow was plotted on the Association's astronomical map before he hit Hollywood in 2019. No further evolution was necessary.
But the Brow didn't enter the elite ranks by being complacent. He's in perpetual pursuit of ways to strengthen his arsenal, and he's doing just that by picking the playmaking portions of the brains of LeBron James and Marc Gasol.
"I've been learning a lot from Marc as far as passing bigs from the top, the elbow, from the post," Davis said, per The Ringer's Rob Mahoney. "Just trying to figure out ways to kind of steal that from him, and also Bron. He's been talking to me about that as well over the past couple of years."
Davis' progress can be found in his production. For only the fifth time in his career (and first with L.A.), he's had at least five assists in three straight games. If he repeats the feat his next time out, it will be the longest such streak he's had in the league.
Mike Budenholzer Goes Outside of the NBA for LeBron Comparison
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Playing the comparison game with LeBron James often boils down to an exercise in futility.
As one of the leading members in the NBA's G.O.A.T. debate, he's not the next anyone. He's the first LeBron.
Saying that, though, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer put an interesting twist on the comparison conversation. He not only went outside of the box, he stepped outside of the sport entirely to liken James' "on time, on target" vision and passing to a combination of NFL all-time great quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees.
James should enjoy that as a big football fan, though considering he's a backer of the Dallas Cowboys, would it have been too much to ask for Budenholzer to add Dak Prescott to the list?
But Budenholzer is right; James' quarterbacking skills are off the charts. His 9,467 assists are the eighth-most in NBA history.
