Anthony Davis could have done better as a facilitator in times of crisis than he had so far won the Los Angeles Lakers 113-106 over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, but the big All-Star was still hypercritical in his game.
“Right now, to be hard on me, man, I think I’m sucking now,” Davis said after finishing with 18 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks. “I don’t take pictures. I don’t take free throws. But I think tonight I’m my aggression, being just a [post-up threat] and getting to the paint, it allowed the boys to open up. “
He missed 10 of the 18 shots he tried – shooting only 44.4% compared to the 53.2% clip he went into tonight connecting this season. And he came out just 2 to 5 from the foul line, which made his career shoot with a free throw at 80.1% to 14 to 22 (63.6%) in his last three games.
However, his transition proved to be a factor of difference. The Lakers came out with 3 to 3 of Davis’ feeds in the last three minutes, allowing LA’s visit to turn a one-possession game into a relatively comfortable victory.
It was the biggest assist he ever had during the clutch in a game of his career.
He tied a dish to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to increase LA’s lead from two to five by 2 minutes, 42 seconds remaining; found Alex Caruso in the corner for another 3 to bring the Lakers seven to a minute later; and set LeBron James for a 3 with 1:04 left to give his team an eight-point cushion. The final flow sealed the victory and allowed the Lakers to extend their winning streak to 8-0 to start the season.
“I trust my teammates. AC hit me one. Bron hit one and Kenny hit one and I’m in the right places where I want guys when I have the ball in the post,” Davis explained. “And just [am] they managed to read with their boys doubling or collapsing to the paint when they got there and I managed to kick her out and those guys took pictures. “
While Davis finished with less than 20 points for the fifth straight game – last season’s longest under-20 streak was limited to just three games during the ball seeding games, when LA already blocked the number 1 – assistance was increasing.
Five of Davis’ six assists against the Bucks led to a 3-point lead for LA – equal to the most 3 assists he has ever witnessed in a single game in his career – and 13 assists of the last two games are the most he has ever had in a span of two games since joining the Lakers.
James explained that he knew that Davis had this passing ability in him all the time, but he rarely managed to display it in New Orleans, because the teams would play him individually, believing that he could not defeat them alone.
“But I felt like he was here, he’s so good that I know he’s finally going to see a lot of double teams,” James said.
Once these doubles come along, James said, Davis has been trained to identify the bands he can target to find open teammates.
“He keeps growing every game. Every movie session, we kind of break down these things – what he sees on the floor,” James said. “Tonight was another example of seeing just the other side of the floor and putting the ball on time, on target and on the guys who knocked it down.”
Like Davis, Lakers coach Frank Vogel left the victory unhappy, even though the Bucks ranked 2nd in offensive efficiency and averaged 120.4 points per game, and the Lakers kept them well below that result. .
“Well, we have to be better,” Vogel said. “I didn’t play the best basketball game tonight.”
It’s the tone of a team looking for something much more substantial than a regular season win in January.
“My aggression tonight,” Davis said, “is the only way I feel like I’m going to get out of this funk or whatever.
“I put a lot of pressure into being a better basketball player in every game and I will continue to do that.”