Los Angeles Lakers: The real Anthony Davis needs to stand up

Appearing in exactly half of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 2020-21 schedule, Anthony Davis was a shell of himself last season.

Clearly feeling the aftereffects of the grueling bubble schedule and the ensuing trip to the 2020 NBA Finals, the short turnaround time between seasons resulted in a distinct lack of health and production for one of the absolute elite players in the game.

This limited preparation ultimately meant Davis was a ticking time bomb for the duration of last season, with a combination of calf and heel issues derailing his regular season, and finally a groin injury in the opening-round playoff loss to the Phoenix Suns was the icing on the cake for a nightmare of a season.

The Los Angeles Lakers will need Anthony Davis more than ever this season to illustrate why he’s the ultimate barometer to their success.

In his 36 appearances, Davis posted 21.8 points and 7.9 rebounds in 32.3 minutes per game, which on the surface isn’t a terrible return. However, this was the lowest rebounding return of his career, and also Davis’ lowest points production since the 2013-14 season. Furthermore, Davis averaged a career-low 1.6 blocks per game, significantly down on his career 2.3 blocks per game average.

The sheer lack of an offseason, and hence drop in overall conditioning levels, meant Davis’ 49.1 percent shooting clip was also the worst of his career. Furthermore, not only did his free throw attempt rate dive from 8.5 to 5.9 per game, his 73.8 percent return was a monumental drop from his career-best 84.6 percent the season prior.

However on a positive note, and given the extraordinary nature of his overall talent, all of this points to one thing: a huge bounceback season for the 2012 No. 1 overall pick. Earlier this offseason, Jovan Buha of The Athletic revealed that the Lakers were planning for Davis to spend more time this season at the center position. Per Basketball-Reference, Davis spent just 10 percent of last season at the center spot while on the floor, significantly down from his 50 percent career split.

This shift last season, combined with Davis’ health issues, can help explain some of his overall drop in productivity. Per Basketball-Reference, here is a comparison over the past two seasons of where Davis has shot the ball while on the floor:

Percentage of total field goal attempts:

0-3 feet:

’19-20: 34.3 percent

’20-21: 24.3 percent

10-16 feet:

’19-20: 15.5 percent

’20-21: 23.2 percent

When you also take in mind the aforementioned drop in free throw attempts, there was a clear shift in mindset and attack from Davis last season. Rather than aggressively attacking the opposition’s interior defense, Davis more often than usual settled outside of the paint, with the results plain to see.

The shift to the center spot on a more regular basis is just one adjustment the 28-year-old Davis will need to make this season. Additionally, the complete change in playing personnel over the offseason, in particular the addition of point guard Russell Westbrook, will also require some acclimatizing. In all, the Lakers have added a whopping 10 rotation players this summer, with eight of those on one-year, minimum deals.

With LeBron James likely to play more at the four-spot, and Westbrook leading the backcourt, the starting lineups for the Lakers this season are bound to be a process of trial-by-error until head coach Frank Vogel is able to find a unit that bet complements all the surrounding skill sets on hand.

But ultimately given the age of the roster (nine players aged 32 and over) and the impact he’s made on both ends of the floor over his nine-year career, Anthony Davis is set to prove to the rest of the league why he’s the Los Angeles Lakers’ true barometer to success in season 2021-22.