The Los Angeles Lakers picked up their fifth win in their last six games with a dominant 125-111 win over the Detroit Pistons at home tonight. Anthony Davis had a starring role in the win, putting up six blocks to go with his 20 points and 14 rebounds. The Lakers have improved their record to 29-26, keeping pace with the Western Conference Playoff race.
Davis commented on the Lakers’ change in form recently, praising the group for playing like a cohesive unit.
“We’re just playing together, moving the basketball…trusting our teammates and playing the right way.”
Anthony Davis on what's been different with the Lakers:
"We're just playing together, moving the basketball…trusting our teammates and playing the right way."
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) February 14, 2024
Davis also commented about his desire to remain healthy and available for the team whenever needed.
“I think I missed 4 games this year. … For the most part, I just try to stay on the floor, stay healthy, and do what I gotta do to help the team win.”
Anthony Davis: "I think I missed 4 games this year. … For the most part, I just try to stay on the floor, stay healthy, and do what I gotta do to help the team win."
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) February 14, 2024
Davis is averaging 24.6 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks this season. While his offensive output hasn’t been consistent over the 51 games he’s played this season, AD is comfortably always the best defender for the Lakers on the court. If the team had a better record, he would be getting noise as a DPOY candidate. He’s definitely in the mix, so he’ll be motivated to continue the Lakers’ good form after the All-Star break to earn his first DPOY honor.
The Lakers play the Utah Jazz tomorrow night and will head off to the All-Star break. The entire Lakers rotation can take a mini-vacation while AD and LeBron James head to Indiana to play in the All-Star game.
The Lakers Go 5-0 With Their New Starting Lineup
The Lakers’ problems for most of the year have been rotation-based, as Darvin Ham has come under heavy fire for not using his players in the right way. The injury uncertainty they’ve faced all year forced Ham into making some calls, but his overreliance on players like Taurean Prince had to pass naturally. Since Prince has lost his starting spot for Rui Hachimura, the Lakers are playing on a different level.
The D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis starting five have gone 5-0. In 87 minutes shared on the court this season, they have an offensive rating of 123.1 and a defensive rating of 113.6, meaning the lineup has a +9.5 net rating.
Even though Taurean Prince is averaging 9.6 points on 39.0% from three, the Lakers were being held back by his lack of speed and athleticism compared to Hachimura, who is showing flashes of the forward we saw in the playoffs last year. His inconsistent minutes have hurt his contributions this season, but he looks solid once again.
As long as LeBron and AD stay healthy, this lineup and other accommodating lineups around it can have success. It’ll be interesting to see if this is successful enough to help the Lakers catch up to the top six in the West, with the franchise currently sitting 3.5 games behind the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans, who are tied for the 5th and 6th seed.
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