Anthony Davis On Lakers’ 8-8 Record: “We Put A Team Together And We Haven’t Seen It Yet.”

2 Min Read

Silver Screen and Roll

Coming into the 2021-22 campaign, the L.A. Lakers had a lot of optimism about the season, especially after trading for former MVP, Russell Westbrook.

But the Lakers have had a tough go of it so far, suffering injuries and growing pains to start this season.

Following their most recent loss, which has them at 8-8, Anthony Davis shared his thoughts on the state of his squad.

Say what you want about the Lakers but without LeBron James, they’re just not the same team.

Of course, there are also questions about Russell Westbrook and his fit with the roster.

The numbers are damning.

Russell Westbrook is defending 5.2 three-point shots per game and allowing his assignment to shoot 38.2% from deep, 4.9% better than their normal average, and tenth-worst in the league among guards (minimum five 3-point shots defended to remove some of the noise).

To make matters worse, out of the 5.2 shots from deep Westbrook has been responsible for guarding this year on the Lakers, he’s only contesting 2.1 of those attempts. The math is simple; he’s giving up 3.1 wide-open shots from beyond the arc per game.

The Lakers are 12th in the league in defense, an unforgivable ranking with a hulking do-it-all player like Anthony Davis in the fold. Russell Westbrook sits at 257th in the association in defensive rating, which is boosted considerably by his rebounding percentages. His on-ball defense has vacillated from mediocre to porous this season, but the way he’s ambling out to open shooters from three-point range has hurt more.

It’s impossible to judge the Lakers with such a big piece of their roster missing. LeBron James will make a huge difference on both ends of the floor.

Still, there are deeper issues with the Lakers that LeBron alone might not fix right away.

There is a lot of work to be done for the 17x Champs and they are more than capable of figuring it all out.

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Nico Martinez is a veteran staff writer for Fadeaway World from Brooklyn, New York. He joined Fadeaway World in 2016 and is currently residing in Columbia, South Carolina. Nico holds a degree in Sports Management from Columbia International University where he built a strong foundation in the inner workings of sports media and management. Nico's contributions have significantly enhanced the credibility and depth of Fadeaway World's content, earning him recognition across the sports journalism community. His work has been discussed in prestigious publications like Sports Illustrated. A dedicated follower of LeBron James, Nico often leads coverage on news related to the basketball star. With nearly a decade of experience in sports journalism, Nico consistently provides comprehensive and timely basketball news, engaging a wide audience of basketball enthusiasts.Nico's most desired player to interview, past or present, is Kevin Durant. He is particularly keen on asking Durant if he has any regrets about his career, especially concerning his departure from the Oklahoma City Thunder, and why he engages so much with fans on social media. 
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