This Anthony Davis Stat on Defense is Alarming

After losing every game in the preseason, the L.A. Lakers were hoping to turn things around once the regular season began. So far, things have not gone entirely to plan for the Lakers. 

The Lakers are 2-3 to start the season and find themselves 3rd in the Pacific Division. They opened the year with back-to-back losses and look like a team that needs a few more weeks to get up to speed. 

One guy in particular who could have used a few more weeks of training camp is Anthony Davis. This isn’t necessarily due to his performance overall, but specifically when he is playing center. Davis has been open in the past about his desire to play power forward and even discussed his preference for the "4" before the Lakers signed him before the 2019-20 season. 

Now, Davis is being asked to be more comfortable with playing center. During the offseason, Frank Vogel along with LeBron James and Rusell Westbrook convinced Davis to change positions from forward to center. 

Now, that plan has become a reality but the results are not what the Lakers were hoping for. According to Cleaning the Glass, Anthony Davis has played 55 percent of his minutes at Center so far through the first five games of the year. In those minutes, the Lakers have a net rating of -7.2 and a Defensive Efficiency of 118. When Davis is playing the four, the Lakers net rating improves to +1.6. For reference, Davis spent just 9 percent of his minutes last season for the Lakers at Center. The team’s net rating was +16.9 during those limited minutes. 

I realize it is hard to make predictions this early in the season, but, it does appear that Davis was not lying when he told the Lakers he doesn’t love playing center. Davis’ points per game of 28.4  and 11.6 rebounds give him a double-double average for the year. But, those points haven’t amounted to wins for the Lakers. One issue is that when Davis and James are on the floor together, no matter the other three guys are, the Lakers have a net rating of around -7.0. Not being able to beat teams when your two best players are on the court is a huge problem. 

While these are all small samples and the Lakers have played just five games, it is worth keeping an eye on Davis’ minutes at center moving forward to see if they dwindle. 

WynnBET has he Lakers are currently +550 to win the NBA title.