The Lakers are doing their best to place Anthony Davis in the best possible condition for the coming season. LeBron James officially declared that the interior represented “the face of the Lakers”the managers did what was necessary so that he could be placed back in the strong winger position (his favorite) with the arrivals of Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood and, finally, Darvin Ham did everything to try to get the most out of his talent.
To do this, the Californian technician decided to challenge his protégé by encouraging him to take more 3-points. He even set a new goal for him to try to see his attempts increase significantly.
“I want him to be able to, if he can…I know he won’t, but maybe he’ll surprise me.” But I asked for him to reach six 3-point attempts per game. That’s three per half, at least. I wouldn’t impose this on him if I didn’t think he was capable of it.”, said Darvin Ham yesterday.
This is a significant jump for the player who has never exceeded 3.5 attempts per game on average over an entire season. It was in 2019/20, his first campaign with the Lakers, when the Californians won their last title, in the Orlando “bubble”. For comparison, over the last 16 playoff games last season, his average did not exceed one attempt per game.
A long way to go
It must be said that in terms of skill, Anthony Davis has never exceeded 35% success, this symbolic milestone which forces defenses to adjust, over the course of a season.
On this point, the last exercise is the worst of his career since he took more than one 3-point shot on average per game, i.e. since 2015, with a small 25.7% of converted attempts. For its part, rather than focusing on the number, AD wants above all that the conditions for taking them are good.
“We’re talking about how to get more 3-pointers. This is clearly a point that needs to be emphasized, with the way the league has evolved.”he admitted after the preseason meeting against Brooklyn, during which he finished 1/3 in the exercise. “But they were all caught in rhythm… We just want to be confident in our shots.”
The goal is to get him as close as possible to this goal for “Opening Night,” October 24 in Denver.
“That’s something he’s worked on, being a more consistent shooter and not just more consistent in his preferred areas but also more consistent from distance. And don’t hesitate. Don’t think too much. If he gets a good opportunity, we all encourage him to take it.”concluded Darvin Ham.
| Anthony Davis | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2012-13 | NOP | 64 | 29 | 51.6 | 0.0 | 75.1 | 2.6 | 5.6 | 8.2 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 13.5 |
| 2013-14 | NOP | 67 | 35 | 51.9 | 22.2 | 79.1 | 3.1 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 20.8 |
| 2014-15 | NOP | 68 | 36 | 53.5 | 8.3 | 80.5 | 2.5 | 7.7 | 10.2 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 2.9 | 24.4 |
| 2015-16 | NOP | 61 | 36 | 49.3 | 32.4 | 75.8 | 2.1 | 8.2 | 10.3 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 24.3 |
| 2016-17 | NOP | 75 | 36 | 50.5 | 29.9 | 80.2 | 2.3 | 9.5 | 11.8 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 28.0 |
| 2017-18 | NOP | 75 | 36 | 53.4 | 34.0 | 82.8 | 2.5 | 8.6 | 11.1 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 28.1 |
| 2018-19 | NOP | 56 | 33 | 51.7 | 33.1 | 79.4 | 3.1 | 8.9 | 12.0 | 3.9 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 25.9 |
| 2019-20 | LAL | 62 | 34 | 50.3 | 33.0 | 84.6 | 2.3 | 7.0 | 9.3 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 26.1 |
| 2020-21 | LAL | 36 | 32 | 49.1 | 26.0 | 73.8 | 1.7 | 6.2 | 7.9 | 3.1 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 21.8 |
| 2021-22 | LAL | 40 | 35 | 53.2 | 18.6 | 71.3 | 2.7 | 7.2 | 9.9 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 23.2 |
| 2022-23 | LAL | 56 | 34 | 56.3 | 25.7 | 78.4 | 3.5 | 9.1 | 12.5 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 25.9 |
| Total | 660 | 34 | 51.9 | 30.0 | 79.3 | 2.6 | 7.8 | 10.4 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 24.0 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
