Los Angeles Lakers: Anthony Davis is less inconsistent than you think

The Los Angeles Lakers might have the two best players left in the NBA playoffs, but Anthony Davis needs to step up his consistency if they want to win a championship.

The Los Angeles Lakers are likely the biggest contender to win the NBA championship, and they’re blessed with the two best players remaining in the NBA playoffs in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. In their matchup against the unrelenting, never-say-die Denver Nuggets, though, it’s going to take even more than what both James and Davis have provided thus far.

Up 2-1, the Lakers are a blown last-second inbounds coverage away from being down 2-1. Davis broke open just before the final buzzer in Game 2, taking advantage of a miscommunication with Mason Plumlee to stick a game-winning 3-pointer, and the Lakers are going to need more of that dominant and present Davis than what he provided in a Game 3 loss.

While Davis scored an efficient 27 points on 9-of-17 from the floor, he was next to useless on the boards with just two rebounds. He didn’t contribute in other ways either, with just one assist and one steal, and the Lakers lost 114-106 in a game that for long stretches wasn’t as close as the score indicated.

Anthony Davis has woven no-shows into what has largely been a spectacular NBA playoff run, and it’s inexplicable. In the playoffs, he’s averaging 28.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game while shooting 57.0 percent from the field. In the aggregate, he’s been absolutely nothing short of dominant.

However, when you’re talking about the playoffs, the margin for error disappears and you can’t afford incomplete efforts against tough, talented and relentless opponents.

The narratives are wrong about Anthony Davis. Mostly.

The NBA studio shows like Inside The NBA deride Anthony Davis for not having a killer instinct, and of course, most of that is absolute hogwash. They’re pushing interesting narratives and riling the masses up for or against star players is just how the game is played, but sometimes Davis proves them right. Game 3 was one of those occasions.

Most of his no-show (or low-show) games have been in blowout wins, where LeBron James or role players have carried the load, like an 18 point, five rebound win over the Portland Trail Blazers in which he played just 17:36 of game time. It’s worth noting that he followed that up with a 43 point, nine-rebound outing where he shot 14-of-18 from the floor and 4-of-6 from 3-point range.

If Anthony Davis continues his torrid pace over a long career with the Los Angeles Lakers or elsewhere, he may be one of the best big man playoff performers in history. His career averages are off the chart. In 26 games, he averages 29.5 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steals per game. He has a playoff effective field goal percentage of 56.2.

What’s even more impressive is that he has put up numbers like this playing alongside LeBron James. Of course, James has at times played second fiddle to Davis in an effort to build him up, but AD has carried the mantle well.

In the playoffs, though, the Los Angeles Lakers will continue to need more from him if they hope to escape the Western Conference Finals and win the NBA championship against either the Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics.