Lakers News: Insider Breaks Down Anthony Davis' Development As A True Center

AD has had to switch back to old ways this year.

Despite being one of the most dominant players on both offense and defense when healthy, Anthony Davis has never liked playing the center position. He has made this well-known and therefore, front offices that he has been involved with always try to pair him with some bigger bodies so he can man the power forward.

We saw it during his tenure with the New Orleans Pelicans where the franchise traded for a multiple time All-Star in DeMarcus Cousins and formed a big man duo like we've never seen before. Your Los Angeles Lakers have also tried to accommodate to his preferences as they have brought in multiple centers to try and hold it down. The most success this tactic brought was in 2020 when two seven-footers in Javale McGee and Dwight Howard helped bring LA a championship.

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

However, the 2023 season is not a normal one for the Lakers. They find themselves barely clinging to life as they try and avoid missing the postseason for the second straight season. Just when things were looking up following a successful trade deadline, LeBron James is now out with an ankle injury and LA has lost some important games in the past week.

One bright side through all of this is that Davis has resumed his MVP-level play that he displayed at the beginning of the season and he has done so majority of his minutes at the five. Old feelings have been put aside as it is clear that the purple and gold are far better when AD marks the paint as his own.

Advanced stats writer for the NBA, John Schuhmann, took a deep dive into Davis' recent play and revealed some remarkable findings surrounding the eight-time All-Star.

It's been a relatively rough season for the Lakers. One positive: Anthony Davis is playing bigger than ever.

Notes & film on AD: https://t.co/6VbukpXvR6

— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) March 16, 2023

"Davis is more efficient because he’s playing more like a big man," said Schuhmann. "He’s played just 5% of his minutes at the four (alongside Wenyen Gabriel or Thomas Bryant), down from 24% last season and 91% of his minutes in 2020-21. According to Second Spectrum tracking, he’s set 45.4 ball screens per 100 possessions, by far his highest rate in the last six seasons. And he’s rolled to the basket (instead of popping to the perimeter) 58% of the time he’s set a ball-screen, his highest rate since his second season in the league."

Schuhmann also went on to praise the former Kentucky big man's defensive presence.

"According to Second Spectrum tracking, opponents have shot just 43.9% when Davis has been defending them, with their expected field goal percentage on those shots being 50.5%," said Schuhmann. "That (-6.6%) is the second biggest differential (behind that of Giannis Antetokounmpo) among 182 players who’ve defended at least 500 shots this season."

The numbers and percentages all look amazing, but if this is the bare minimum that Davis has to pull just to keep the Lakers competing, that means his teammates must step up on both ends as well to make playoff dreams come true.

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