Anthony Davis has been nothing short of a revelation in the last month for the Lakers. Ever since LeBron James was out with injury, the Lakers needed AD to take the leadership role. He did quite brilliantly. Clearly, this season has not been kind to the Lakers or to Anthony Davis. He missed as many as twenty games since sustaining a stress injury last December.
Moreover, shortly after his return to the lineup LeBron James got injured. With that, the fans lost all hopes of a postseason. They thought what happened last year would repeat this time as well. But Anthony Davis had something else in mind. He brought the Lakers back to the postseason chances with his outstanding performances in a row.
James Worthy And LeBron James Explain What Changed AD
Even after LeBron James has come back to the squad, the team is now depending on AD to lead them throughout the rest of the regular season. James Worthy, former Lakers player, and current sports commentator, talked about the sudden surge of Anthony Davis. Worthy mentioned, “As soon as AD realized that he is better around the paint, he started performing better than before.” AD must have checked the statistics that he is better around the basket than trying to shoot three-pointers. Since then, he has brought a change in his playing style and has been getting the results he wanted. He is currently averaging 38.7 points per game, along with 11.7 rebounds per game, 1.7 assists per game, 1.0 steals per game, and 2.0 blocks per game.
This average is absolutely outrageous. But the fact is that the fans have been hoping Anthony Davis would play like this for a long time. Ever since the Lakers won their 17th championship, the fans wanted AD to have such an average. However, that did not happen. As LeBron James once joked, “AD needs a kick at his backside every once in a while.” Something similar to that theory started happening when Anthony Davis was losing his value in the league gradually. He was looking for redemption. That must have been a motivating factor for him. As he went on to take charge after James was out for a month. Then on, the fans of the Lakers been seeing the AD they had wanted for so long.
Dominant Anthony Davis Carrying The Lakers To The Post-Season
In the last game against the Rockets, Anthony Davis had an injury scare when he rolled onto the floor. But he impressed everybody when he got up and performed even better. It is clear that when Anthony Davis dominates, the Lakers dominate. That is the kind of victory the Lakers enjoyed against the Rockets.
Moreover, it was a revenge game, as the Rockets had beaten the Lakers in their previous encounter. After dominating the Rockets, the Lakers stand as the 7th seed in the Western Conference. They are inching closer to the top six with only four games to go. The Lakers look more balanced than ever in the current season. Hence, the February trades had worked like miracles for the Lakers.