The Los Angeles Lakers have only been able to win two out of nine games they’ve played this season. LeBron James has been as good as ever, but that’s not enough anymore at this point in his career.
Needless to say, the fans expected Anthony Davis to step up and carry James’ torch. He’s younger and should be in charge of leading the Lakers’ offense while LeBron takes a step back, but that hasn’t been the case.
As a matter of fact, Davis only attempted a grand total of two shots in the second half of a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. That’s why James was far from satisfied and claimed he wanted to see him getting more involved in the offense.
NBA News: LeBron James Wants Anthony Davis To Take More Shots
(Transcript via ESPN)
“Anthony Davis attempted just two shots in the second half of the Lakers’ 114-100 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, dropping Los Angeles to 2-7 on the season.
‘Obviously, it starts with AD and getting him more touches,’ LeBron James said afterward. ‘Our focal point is and always should be to make sure he touches the ball throughout the course of possessions, quarters, halves.’
Davis was 4-for-5 from the field in the first quarter as the Lakers outscored an opponent (36-30) in the opening frame for the first time all season. Then Davis was just 1-for-2 in the second half as the Lakers scored 36 points in the third and fourth quarters combined.
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Darvin Ham Isn’t Worried About Davis
Lakers coach Darvin Ham claimed that it had nothing to do with the team not trying to feed AD. He claims to have his back and believes it’s only a matter of time before his star PF gets into a rhythm:
“We have a playbook. We have a menu and a bunch of sets where AD can be featured,” Ham said. “You have to just be organized. He’s got my blessing to scream out, call his own number. We tried to get him going, tried to get Bron going on some post actions and some step-ups and pick-and-roll stuff.”
“It’s not like we’re not trying. And sometimes the game dictates things to go in another way. They go on a run and then we’re trying to play faster to try to possibly score more. So it’s a lot of different variables that go into that. It’s not like, ‘OK, you’re just not calling plays for AD.’ That’s not the case,” Ham added.
All things considered, Davis has left some to be desired since arriving in Southern California. He was supposed to be the face of the franchise going forward, yet that hasn’t been the case thus far.
