A quarter of the way into the 2021-22 season, it’s reasonable to say that the Los Angeles Lakers aren’t where they want to be. On an individual basis, the same could be said for some of the team’s top stars, too. To that end, Russell Westbrook’s name immediately jumps to mind, however, Anthony Davis is having issues of his own.
On the whole, the eight-time All-Star is having the kind of year Lakers fans have come to expect. That said, there are some funky aspects to his shot chart that will be worth monitoring as the season goes on.
For the year, Davis has connected on just 20.5% of his triples. Among players who have attempted two or more longballs per contest while playing 15-plus games this season, that number is the fourth-worst mark in the Association. We’re talking Blake Griffin-level bad, yet he continues to shoot the three.
It’s a trend that has raised some eyebrows. Specifically, those of former NBA star Eddie Johnson.
Johnson Is Disturbed by What He’s Seeing From AD
The three-point shot isn’t the only one that hasn’t fallen for Davis. As noted by StatMuse, the Lakers big man was also shooting 38.3% on mid-range shots and 33.1% on jumpers as of November 27.
Johnson — a 17-year vet of the league’s golden age who is currently working Phoenix Suns broadcasts — caught wind of Davis’ numbers and was so taken aback that he was moved to vent about them on Twitter.
“This is disturbing for a player of this talent level,” tweeted Johnson.
“Analytic thinking is destroying his game and he doesn’t even know it,” Johnson added. “This trend started last season. If he built his game out from the extreme post and not the mid post he would show more consistency.”
Whether moving to the extreme post and laying off the threes would yield better results for Davis and, more importantly, his team is difficult to say. For his part, though, the Lakers star doesn’t appear to be on the verge of changing anything up.
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Davis Reveals Why He’s Still Firing Threes
During the Lakers’ November 28 win over the Detroit Pistons, Davis was a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range. It was just the second time this season that he had notched two triples for Los Angeles. After the game, he made it clear that he’s going to keep shooting it from deep, come what may.
He’s not doing it for his own benefit, though.
“I’m going to continue to shoot the ball from three. Whether it goes in or not, I think that opens up the floor for my teammates — LeBron, Russ, Talo — to get downhill. And it opens it up for me to get to the paint when guys run out and are closing out to the three,” Davis said. “I’m just trying to be effective at all three levels of the floor, and it was going for me tonight.”
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