Lakers News: Anthony Davis States Obvious That the Lakers Are Behind On Their Preparation
Anthony Davis appears to be taking on his role as a leader. The Lakers suffered a big loss in their first pre-season game, where the Brooklyn Nets pulled away in the second half. Davis only played in one quarter, but he was honest about the Lakers' struggles early on.
“We’re way behind. Getting movement on offense. Quality shots. Defensively talking, getting our schemes right. Rebounding, very huge. We’re not boxing out. That was the main takeaway."
Davis is right. The Lakers overall were out-rebounded 69-53. Not nice. Early on in the game the Nets were getting offensive rebounds at will. LeBron James and Russell Westbrook are elite rebounders at their positions, but simply hoping their presence will change that is not quite enough. A lot of possessions ended looking like this. On this offensive possession there are four Lakers out of the picture, with only Dwight Howard in the paint getting offensive boards. There was a lot of this type of floor confusion for LA.
The Lakers only shot 36% from the field, but on this end Davis was not as worried about the future performance.
“Offense will come. We’re not too worried about it, especially when we get Bron, Melo, TA and Russ out there. But it was the first game to see where we are and we got to do a better job defensively, especially blocking out.”
Davis is correct here too, of course. A team with Westbrook, James, and Davis playing heavy minutes will not typically struggle to score points. These pre-season games are actually wonderful for the unsung parts of the roster to really find their rhythm and grooves.
The Lakers take on the Suns in their next pre-season game on Wednesday, October 6th, 7PM PST.
