ESPN talking head Kendrick Perkins appeared on “First Take” on Monday and declared that Anthony Davis is the player in the Los Angeles Lakers’ locker room under the most pressure. Perk said that AD is auditioning for the Lakers to see if they can put the franchise in his hands. Is Perk right?
“I believe that he is still auditioning for the Los Angeles Lakers to see if [they can] put the franchise in his hands,” Perkins said.
LeBron And AD Won A Title Together
When the Lakers signed LeBron James and turned the franchise over to him and Klutch Sports, the goal was to win championships. They won in 2020.
When they traded away all of their young players and future draft capital to acquire AD the goal was winning, and ultimately when James could no longer be the number one that role would handled by AD.
If the best ability is availability AD does not receive high marks in that category. He’s only played more than 70 games twice in his 11-year career, and the last two seasons in LA he’s played in 76 of a possible 164 games. That’s less than half.
AD Is A Special Player
When he’s on the floor AD is one of the more dominant players in the league. A legitimate two-way wrecking ball. A tough, foul drawing cover on offense, and a switchable rim protector on defense.
He ranks in the 97th percentile in EPM at +5.6. He’s in the 93rd percentile on offense at +3.0 and the 98th percentile on defense at +2.5.
The are few players that are ranked in the 90th percentile or higher on both offense and defense this season, they include: Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Kawhi Leonard.
So don’t get it twisted. AD is that dude. He just needs to be available to be that dude consistently.
The Lakers have seven games left in the regular season and are currently in the play-in tournament sitting ninth in the west. Making the playoffs and going on a run, no matter how unrealistic, is the goal. In order to do that everyone on the team will need to play well.
“Obviously, my part in this has been huge,” Davis told ESPN. “Expectations of my performance and my leadership is high. Not only for myself, but for my team, my coaches, and the organization.”
AD is correct. As a former number one pick, eight-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA, and four-time All-Defense this is what is expected of him.
A herculean effort over these last seven games and leading this team into the playoffs and potentially a series win would go a long way. But that’s getting a bit too far out in front.
The Lakers other superstar has just returned from injury and with only seven games remaining, James doesn’t have a lot of time to shake off the rust.
“You could see him getting his rhythm, his timing, his finishes, all of that,” Davis said. “He’s going to be all right. We’re going to be all right. … It was great to see him back out there.”
The Lakers will go as far as James and Davis can take them being the best versions of themselves. For Davis it’s being the player he knows he can be and the Lakers thought he could be when they acquired him.
