Darvin Ham credits Anthony Davis for putting his ‘words into action’ and being available for Lakers this season
In an up and down season Anthony Davis has been a beacon of consistency.
There have been a lot of inconsistencies from the Lakers game to game this season, but one thing is clear: Anthony Davis is having his best regular season as a Laker.
Defensively, there’s never been a question about Davis’ play. He’s always been an elite rim protector and athletic enough to defend the perimeter and handle any switches. This might even be the year he finally earns his Defensive Player of the Year award.
Offensively, there have been questions about his aggression and consistency. Every game becomes a legacy game for Davis on the offensive side of the ball and each single-digit scoring performance becomes proof that he isn’t a franchise player.
This season, however, that’s happened less and less as Davis has stepped up and brought it night in and night out for Los Angeles.
After the Lakers’ game against the Clippers, Darvin Ham spoke about Davis’ consistency and what’s causing it.
“He’s just been about, not just talking about it,” Ham said. “He’s put his words into action. Just the way he attacked his body this summer, trying different cross-training methods. We try to be efficient with what we do with his minutes. There’s been several times this year where he’s had to go way over what we intended but the fact he’s in such a great space mentally, spiritually, the main part is physically, he’s taking it all in stride. It’s just a commitment he made to his teammates, to us, to the whole organization that he wants to not only be available but available at a high level. Again, he put his words into action in terms of how he’s really attacked his body physically.”
This was after a game where, admittedly, Davis could’ve been better. The Lakers lost to the Clippers without LeBron James, who was out with a left ankle injury.
The team needed a big game from Davis and his 26-point performance wasn’t enough. Most see it as a condemnation of his teammates who didn’t get him the ball in the fourth, failing to get him more involved in the offense.
Davis is in top form, healthy and available, which fans have yearned for throughout his Lakers tenure. The moment is here, but the roster isn’t ready to help him chase after another title. Can the Lakers make a trade to get this team closer to contention?
If so, they’ll be a dangerous squad regardless of their playoff positioning come April. And Davis is a big reason why the dream of title No. 18 in 2024, while a long shot, is still intact.