NBA Realities

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis has received significant criticism from the mainstream media for his offensive performances. Stephen A Smith of ESPN labeled Anthony Davis an inconsistent offensive player during the October 27th episode of First Take.

“Atrocious, very concerning,” he said of Davis’ scoreless second half. “Ladies and gentlemen, you just saw the reason why the Los Angeles Lakers ain’t gon’ win no championship this year. … I’m so ticked off at Anthony Davis right now. It’s an embarrassment what happened with him yesterday. We gotta call it like we see it, okay? When this brother brings his A game, he’s one of the top seven players on the planet Earth. Charles Barkley calls him Street Clothes. I said, ‘No, I call him Six Flags.’ He’s a roller coaster. He’s up and down. You never know what you gon’ get. He’ll drop 40 one game. He’ll drop 11 the next like he did between Games 1 and 2 of the postseason last year. I believe it was against Denver. You turn around, you got 17 points in the first half, okay? In the second half, let’s look at the numbers. Second half, 18 minutes, zero points.”

Anthony Davis’ role in Darvin Ham’s offense

Although Stephen A Smith’s statements are factual and accurate, there is a valid explanation for Anthony Davis’ offensive inconsistencies. Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham currently has Davis in a complementary role inside his offensive system.

Anthony Davis has spent most of the team’s offensive possessions under Darvin Ham setting screens in the pick and roll or floating between the free throw line and restricted area. For example, Davis set a screen for LeBron James at the top of the key early in the first quarter against the Phoenix Suns.

Anthony Davis noticed that his defender, Jusuf Nurkić, was paying attention to James as he went over the screen. Consequently, Davis rolled to the basket as no one was there. Unfortunately, James came off the screen and decided to pass the ball to Cam Reddish for a wide-open three-pointer on the right wing.

These offensive possessions have contributed to Davis receiving 38 passes per game over the first 8 games in the past two seasons. This is an 11.2% decrease from the first 8 outings in the 2021-22 season under Frank Vogel.

Anthony Davis’ diminished offensive role has led to a decline in post-up and roll-man possessions. He averaged 6.5 post-up possessions per game during the first eight outings in the 2021-22 season under Frank Vogel.

Davis has seen a 41.6% decline in post-up possessions under Darvin Ham, averaging 3.8 per game during the same timeframe. He has also seen a 20% decrease in rollman possessions, averaging 3.6 per game.

Darvin Ham can help Davis be consistent offensively by getting more involved in the offense. For example, Anthony Davis’ best game this season was on October 29th, when he scored 30 points, shooting 50% on 22 attempts. During this game, he received 40 passes from his teammates. He received five post-ups on the game.