Anthony Davis made it quite clear during the offseason that he doesn’t want to spend a whole lot of time at the center. Moreover, AD himself asked for a center like Christian Wood, who can take some workload off him. That’s the reason why the Lakers signed Wood in first place. Initially, it looked like things were going according to plan. However, when the LA side had a bad start to the season in terms of win-loss ratio as well as injuries, things went topsy turvy again.
Albeit, the 17-time champions won the previous two games against the Phoenix Suns and the Portland Trail Blazers. Currently, the Lakers are 5-5. However, what is more concerning is the hip injury to Anthony Davis so early in the season. The Lakers would not like to see their star player miss another twenty games on the trot. Moreover, the fans are eagerly waiting to see the presence of two big like Wood and Jaxson Hayes help AD play as many games as possible.
Darvin Ham Is Also Aware Anthony Davis And Wants To Handle It The Best Way Possible
Recently, Darvin Ham told Dave McMenamin of ESPN that he and AD are on the same page as to having a diverse skill set on the floor. Even the Lakers head coach wants to handle AD’s minutes on the court wisely. As per Basketball-Reference, Anthony Davis has played 100% on the floor at center this season. It includes the time when he played alongside Christian Wood for 119 minutes so far. On the other hand, Jaxson Hayes has only played 12 minutes with Anthony Davis this season so far. Clearly, the Lakers can go a long distance if Anthony Davis can withstand the pressure of the long season physically.
It is still too soon to call AD the best player of the Lakers at present. He has missed 104 games in the regular season over the previous three seasons. Hence, AD can’t take the reins from LeBron James yet. The King will turn 39 next month. Hence, Anthony Davis will have to take up more responsibility than usual. Moreover, what if the James-Davis duo is able to carry the LA Lakers to yet another playoff? Then Anthony Davis might have to play more time at the 5. But both these stars have to be at their best mentally and physically if the LA side makes the playoffs.
The LA Front Office Wants To Help AD In Every Way They Can
Moreover, the Los Angeles Lakers seemed quite understanding toward the new face of their franchise. As the front office wants AD to take more responsibility in leading the side to the playoffs, they are also eager to help him in any way they can. The Lakers very well know how fragile the eight-time All-Star is.
On top of that, he has never been able to play more than 75 games in a season in his career ever. Last season, he missed several games and twenty games on the trot due to a stress injury. Hence, the basic idea behind bringing balance and depth to the roster was to ensure balance in the game time of Anthony Davis.
