Anthony Davis has always been a point guard at heart. For much his High School years, Davis stood at just 6-3 and played as a guard. He went mostly unnoticed by scouts.
It wasn’t until a growth spurt hit during his sophomore year that AD blossomed to become a national phenom and the guy who once struggling to get scholarships was suddenly on the national radar as one of the best college recruits in America.
Davis would go on to play for Kentucky and then make the transition to the NBA, where he quickly cemented himself as a dominant, modern-day big who could score both inside and out.
But why is all of this relevant right now? Because for years now, Davis has been reluctant to play the center position and that is in no small part due to his days as a small guard in High School.
As the league goes small, that stance is becoming more detrimental to the team and against smaller teams, like the Rockets, it really limits how they can respond.
The good news is, AD may be willing to finally adjust and play some minutes at the five as his team fights to stay alive in the Western Conference playoffs.
(via Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports)
“Lakers big man JaVale McGee got the usual start at center, but only played 12 minutes in the Rockets’ dominant 112-97 victory,” wrote Haynes. “And backup center Dwight Howard registered only 11 minutes, meaning a true center accounted for playing less than half the game.
“And that still might be too many center minutes in this series with the Rockets trotting out 6-foot-5 P.J. Tucker as their five man. Lakers star Anthony Davis is not fond of playing center, but he wouldn’t be going up against a traditional big in this matchup.
“Davis is willing to slide up from power forward in this series, league sources told Yahoo Sports.”
Report: Anthony Davis Willing to Play Center in Rockets Series Despite Not Being Fond of Position https://t.co/kYJgY0OH0u
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 5, 2020
With Davis at the five, it opens up a whole new world of possibilities for L.A. in terms of lineups. Alongside LeBron and AD, the Lakers could put out KCP, Caruso, and Danny Green at the same time for spacing and quickness.
Big men like JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard are going to be seldom used the series, and we will see how the Lakers are able to cope with playing the Rockets’ style of basketball.
Anthony Davis sure won’t enjoy it, but it may be the only way to get things done.
