Los Angeles Lakers: Will caving into Anthony Davis’ desires cost the team a championship?

Although the Los Angeles Lakers are currently atop the Western Conference, will the dynamic between Anthony Davis and LeBron James cost them a championship?

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is currently trying to dispel the notion that stars don’t enjoy playing with him. According to the OCRegister, James informed the media during training camp that Anthony Davis was dictating organizational decision.

He has allowed Davis to be the most important in an organization players around the league feel that James always makes teammates adjust to him instead of compromising. Kevin Durant told Bleacher Report in 2018 that James turns his costars into shooters:

"“Kevin Love, he had to totally change his game to fit, to be a shooter. Which, I think, he deserves way more credit for switching his game. Bosh, same way. LeBron is a player that needs to play with guys that already know how they play the game—and shooters”."

If James didn’t acquiesce to him, he would lean into the perception increasing the likelihood that Davis left the team in free agency. Consequently, they consulted Anthony Davis on every off-season move. They went above and beyond to make sure along the way that the team’s offense would run through him. Davis openly acknowledged during his intro press conference that he prefers not to play center.

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Davis is hesitant to play the majority of minutes at the center position because he hates the physical toll that defending big men takes on his body. The Lakers responded in kind, with the re-signing of JaVale McGee and the signing of Dwight Howard to share minutes at center. Davis is currently sharing the court with Howard or McGee 62.7 percent of the time averaging 21.9 minutes per game.

They also installed a post-up offense, as that’s where Anthony Davis felt most comfortable on offense. Before arriving in Los Angeles, Davis has shot 42.7 percent down in the low post on 3.5 field goal attempts in 6.7 possessions per game.

Davis’ field goal percentage led him to amass 3.9 points per game in the post. It accounted for 14.6 percent of his total scoring output, as he averaged 26.7 points per game during this span.

Davis’ comfort in the post has contributed to the team being 2nd in the league in post-up possessions averaging 14.5 per game. The team has given 62.1 percent of those possessions to him as he is averaging 9 post-up possessions per game.

Davis is shooting 45.6 percent on 3.7 field goal attempts per game allowing him to create 4.7 points. Post ups account for 17.6 percent of his scoring output as he is averaging 26.7 points.  The combination of these factors meant that there were going to be four players near the basket during all offensive positions as all below average shooters.

Davis, Howard, and McGee all shoot below 32 percent from behind the arc. The congestion near the basket incentivized James to shoot more three’s. 32 percent of James’ field-goal attempts have come from behind the arc.

Sadly, James is not a good 3-point shooter as he only converted 34.3 percent of his threes on 4.2 attempts per game before this season. James has continued the trend this season as he is making 34.9 percent of his threes on 6.4 attempts per game.

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The team has been able to navigate around their shooting deficiency during the regular season. This is because opposing coaches don’t have time to study their weaknesses as they are facing a different organization, almost every game. Consequently, the starting lineup has shot 37.5 from behind the arc in 11.8 minutes per game.

The 3-point percentage has contributed to the Lakers shooting 50.2 percent from the field. Los Angeles’ field goal percentage helped the starting lineup generate 28.6 points per game. The 28.6 points helped outscore opponents by 3 points per game.

However, it should be a different story in the playoffs as the opposing coaching staff gets a chance to pick them apart for several games in a row. Consequently, teams will start to see their shooting deficiency and put more defenders near the basket to encourage them to take the wide-open three.

Therefore, the team should remove McGee from the starting lineup to put an extra shooter on the floor. An additional shooter allows Los Angeles to put defenses in a bind. If the defenses collapse on the ball handler, he will have more confidence in kicking it out for the wide-open three.

On the other hand, if the defenders stay at home with shooters, the ball handler will face single coverage, making it easier for him to get an open shot, as he has more space to create separation from the defender.

The 3 shooter lineup has been successful in limited minutes for Los Angeles. For example, the five-man unit composed of Davis, James, Avery Bradley, Alex Caruso, and Danny Green has shot 41.7 percent from behind the arc in 3.4 minutes per game during 12 appearances.

The3-point percentage contributed to Los Angeles shooting 52.2 percent from the field. The Lakers’ field goal percentage helped the starting lineup generate 8.3 points per game. The 8.3 points helped outscore opponents by 1.6 points per game.

If the team were to this lineup more playing time, it would require that Davis spends the majority of his minutes at center. The positional shift shouldn’t be a problem for him on the court as Davis is considered to be a solid defender against big men.

Before arriving in Los Angeles, Davis held opponents to 46.6 percent shooting on 1.6 field goal attempts in the low post. Davis was even better at defending pick and rolls as he has held opponents to 35.9 percent shooting in 1.3  field goal attempts.

Unfortunately, the team is unlikely to force him to play center because of his contract status. Davis’ leverage will make the team’s road to a championship harder.