By Jordan Long
The L.A. Lakers are looking to improve from last year’s disappointing season when they ended 33-49. They missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019. The Lakers, of course, have a new Head Coach, Darvin Ham, who replaces Frank Vogel. There is one Laker who wants to have more success this year, Anthony Davis.
Davis appeared in 40 games for the Lakers last year. He was effective on both the offensive and defensive end of the court. On offense, Davis scored 23.2 points dishing out 3.1 assists per game. He could always box out to create second chance opportunities for the Lakers. Davis totaled 2.7 offensive rebounds per game.
On the defensive side of the court, Davis is one of the better Lakers’ defenders. He plays tight man to man defense. When a player shoots the ball, it is a tough look because of Davis’ defense. Shots are sometimes blocked or with Davis’ hand in their face, it is a miss. Davis averaged 7.2 defensive rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game last year.
The Lakers missed Davis’ presence on the court. He had a few injuries that limited his action, missing 42 games. Davis suffered an MCL sprain. It was also revealed this week he was also dealing with a wrist injury that impacted the way he shot the basketball.
Davis has a goal in mind to play all 82 games. According to dailynews.com, Davis said, “I want to be able to play all 82 games. And if I’m not, I don’t want it to be injury-based where I can’t play. That’s my goal. The more I’m on the floor, the more I can help my team and its chance of winning when I’m playing.”
This is a great goal. He needs to play for the Lakers to have any type of success. The problem is Davis hasn’t played a full NBA season for the Lakers. Davis has been a Laker since the start of the 2019-2020 season. That year was impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic and finished in a bubble setting.
The Lakers need Davis to be healthy this year. Their goal is to be a playoff team. If he isn’t on the court and misses time, it may be a long year for the Lakers. The Lakers begin the season on October 18th when they face the Golden State Warriors.
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