Lakers fan favorite brushes off recent Anthony Davis criticism
Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis has had his fair share of critics to start the 2023-24 season. Hall of Famer Charles Barkley recently stated Davis isn't a top player in the league anymore, while Colin Cowherd likened Davis to a McDonald's milkshake machine, saying he's broken 50% of the time.
Now, questions have started to arise about his ability to lead the Lakers to a championship.
The All-Star big man has had mixed performances on offense for the Lakers. Davis is supposed to be taking over from an aging LeBron James. He's meant to be the primary option on offense. Yet, in the Lakers' opening game against the Denver Nuggets, Davis only scored 17 points and shot a measly 35% from the field.
He did follow that up with back-to-back 30-point outings, but the Lakers still dropped one of those games.
Former Lakers point guard Derek Fisher believes Davis' impact is more nuanced than what we see in the box score.
"You always want your best players to be in position to impact the game because they create opportunities for other guys," Fisher said during an interview with Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation. "The more attention A.D. garners, the higher percentage shots other players on the team are going to get...A.D. is oftentimes more nuanced than statistical output. All the things that we think we want to see, A.D. does it, it just doesn't show up in the points column. Ultimately, if the Lakers win, that's what shuts all the noise up."
Davis is an MVP-caliber player when operating at the top of his game. He can dominate opposing defenses, and he's a lock-down interior defender and rim-protector. Low-scoring games are part of being in the NBA.
Davis bounced back with 30 points against the Phoenix Suns in a win and had another 30 in Sunday's loss to the Sacramento Kings. He can be the lead guy for the Lakers.
However, Davis has to stay healthy. His ability to remain on the court is the biggest swing factor. Davis has struggled with injuries over the past few seasons. If he's unable to stay on the court, the Lakers won't be a contending team. He's that important to the franchise's chances of success.
Darvin Ham also needs Davis to do more than score. He needs his star player to carry the load in whatever way is needed. Fisher's point about nuanced production isn't just for Davis. It's for every lead player in the NBA. Davis just needs to show he can be nuanced for a full season and a deep playoff run.
Otherwise, the Lakers will need to look elsewhere next summer.
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