To say this Anthony Davis he’s going through one of the sweetest moments of his entire sports career shouldn’t be crazy. its star Los Angeles Lakers He is finally at full fitness, which has translated into an unprecedented performance for the interior and results that are on track to save the season for the Californians. In the blink of an eye, AD has taken control of the Los Angeles team and washed her face.
The best way to verify the level you are playing at Davis is to take a look at his offensive contribution, which has suffered a dangerous irregularity since the end of the 2020 Playoffs. A single piece of information shows it perfectly: in the 20 games he has played, he has scored more than half of what he has scored. passed the previous course in 40 (560 for 927). All this precisely 58.6% on field goals and 41.8% on jump shotssignificant improvement over the 35.4% of the previous two campaigns.
Anthony Davis in jump shots
Post bubble (2020-22): 35.4% on 121 of 341 attempts
This season: 41.8% on 23-of-55 pic.twitter.com/n9zixSLGJz
— Sergio Rabinal (@S_Rabinal) December 5, 2022
If all that wasn’t enough, on Sunday, December 4th, AD reached a major climax that catapulted him straight into the conversation about MVP, even in spite of the balance of the Lakers. In the 130 to 119 win over the Washington Wizards Davis went to 55 points on 22 of 30 field goals (73.3%), 17 rebounds and 3 blocks. A display of sheer power, he missed 8 shots throughout the duel while also making a difference on defense.
The interior dominated the match at will, outscoring all opponents, and the Wizards could hardly do anything to avoid it:
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Since the blocks were recorded, this is the first time that the laker history that a player signs two games in a row with more than 40 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Shaquille O’Neal He did something similar in April 2000, but fell behind in blocks. And not only that, but it’s the third time as a teammate of LeBron James reaches the 50-goal mark in a duel in which he is present, with AD being the only one to repeat (Kary Irving was the other).
The consistent brilliance of the interior of the Los Angeles team is such that they have not fallen below 25 goals since last November. A segment of 9 games for which the average AD 41.4 points per night and where the Lakers have added 7 wins to the duels they have attended (the victory over the Spurs on November 26th was lost).
Anthony Davis has completely overshadowed the return of a LeBron who is as young as ever and overshadowed the resurgence of Russell Westbrook. At a time when the Lakers’ present seemed doomed to absolute nothingness, along came AD, who made the Californians legitimate playoff contenderclearing any hint of doubt about his figure.
Now Rob Pelinka will have to reshape his plan for this season. With many assets to trade, a transfer becomes almost a liability. The question now is to take advantage of the awakening of an Anthony Davis that can change the fate of the Lakers when all seemed lost.
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