Recently, according to the media, Lakers forward Anthony Davis will return to the game against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday. Suffered a left knee sprain against the Timberwolves on Dec. 17 and has missed the last 17 games this season. In the 2021-2022 season, Anthony Davis averaged 23.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 2 blocks per game, and his comeback can effectively help the team.
Anthony Davis is back
So far, the Lakers have achieved a record of 23 wins and 24 losses, ranking eighth in the West. However, it is gratifying that the team is only 2 wins away from the nuggets in sixth place, giving the Lakers hope of seeing the light, and this belief will make their position in the NBA playoffs more secure.
The data shows that when Davis is on the court, the Lakers lose more points. Davis dropped to 105.4 offense off the field, ranking fourth in the NBA behind the Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma Thunder. Compared to the defensive end, Davis's defensive rate on the court is 108.0, and the defensive rate on the court is 110.4, which is not very detailed in the data.
Davis has missed 17 games, and head coach Frank Vogel has changed the starting player several times to try to get the Lakers out of the slump. Vogel's use of a small lineup, with James playing in the No. 5 position, Andonne being the best candidate to replace the No. 5 position, while abandoning the use of Howard, this strategy has a good effect, in this stage, the Lakers achieved a record of 5 wins and 2 losses.
Vogel arranged to play the No. 5 position
James can pull out the space, start fast, and move the ball to the most confident point in the most efficient way possible. Lakers head coach Vogel said about the small lineup: This is the way we are going in the second half of the season, we are seeing obvious benefits now, and we feel that Anthony will get a bigger improvement when he comes back.
When Davis returns, the coach will let him play the No. 5 position, but the thick-browed brother is not in a very good state of playing the No. 5 position, and he has complained to the media many times: he does not want to play the No. 5 position. Obviously, the data doesn't lie, when Davis came on, the Lakers' record was 13 wins and 14 losses, and when he didn't play, the Lakers' record was 10 wins and 10 losses.
In Davis's absence, the Lakers carried the team alone on James, who averaged 32.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game, currently at the top of the Most Valuable Player list and the champion of the third stage of the All-Star voting.
James—a god-like being
Before the injury, Davis went through the worst jump shooting season of his career. His shooting percentage of 52.1 percent was one of the best in his career, shooting a staggering 64.3 percent in the box; however, Davis' shooting percentage from the outside was disastrous, with 17.9 percent three-point shooting and 32.4 percent shooting.
The Lakers won the 2019 NBA championship
In less than two seasons of baptism, Davis's three-point shooting percentage during the Lakers' 2020 championship has been cut in half. More worryingly, Davis' mindset has changed. Even shooting less than 20% of the shots in the shooting of empty three-pointers, the thought that his teammates around him are all MVP-level organizers, and there are still many opportunities on the court, mainly up to Davis himself.