Anthony Davis Discussion: Thanks For The Ring AD!!!

right. i love these #2 arguments. so there's like, 3 #1 guys in the league? ok. good luck holding out for them.

also, AD is probably about as valuable as those guys, too, tbh. two-way all nba big that can't be played off the floor by smallball opponents. there's one of those and we have him (mayyybe two if you count embiid).

 

Are you saying you think a team can win with AD as the best player?

I haven’t seen that ability yet

 

Step up ... shoot it up .... and get his wuss a** back out there.

 

yes. he led the pelicans to the playoffs and i think nearly 50 wins (check the rest of that roster).

give him an allstar sidekick, and he gets you home court in round 1. give him another, and you can win it all.

the disrespect for AD is pretty f***ing shocking, tbh, particularly coming from his own team's fans.

and i said all this about AD long before we had a shot at him. name the players who CAN win as a #1 if he can't.

 

Seems to struggle with consistency sometimes, why I think @sirronstuff has a point ... but yeah.

 

He’s missed too many games in his career and been out of the first round once before joining the Lakers. Lots of reasons for questions.

The reality is we may never know, but I’m not saying he’s not super talented. Out of all the young talent in the league, he would have to be towards the top of the list of the people you would want, but I just don’t see him as a dominant leader us spoiled Laker fans are accustomed to.

off the charts expectations and standards

 

I'm used to agreeing with virtually all of your posts, but this one I had to comment on. AD was #1 on the list of players I wanted to see in Lakers uniform long before we traded for him, there's basically no player I would trade him for. As great as Luka, Giannis and Embiid are, I'm still keeping AD. He may not be as durable as LBJ, but it's not like he's mr. glass, and when he is available, he's the absolute total package. If last year's PO didn't prove that, I don't know what could to be honest. He was a force of nature and even though Bron deserved the finals MVP, AD was every bit as mportant to the team's success throughout the playoffs.

 

sure, but who's that guy then? giannis's team has flamed out spectacularly in the playoffs. luka is poised to finish 7th/8th again. lebron would have finished 5th-8th the year before we got AD had he not gotten injured.

if the standard for #1 is you can get your team a title without another all-nba teammate, there's been like, wilt. and that may be it. and actually he didn't get a ring until he was with us (and three other hofers).

AD is a #1. and one of the best. he had crappy teams around him in NO. every single year. we traded our entire roster aside from lebron for him and won a title the next year. the roster that was going to finish in the bottom half of the playoff picture at best.

 

Well, if AD ends up winning 2 or 3 titles in the next 5 years and then falls off, I'd say it evens out.

For me, pass the green turds this year and the Lakers can not win another one for a few years if that's their destiny.

At this point, winning in 2020 has stamped Lebron and AD as Laker greats to me.

 

need to see him handle double teams better 1st but the injuries are a theme now, cant argue that

 

i think this will be the first year (except for when NO sat him) that he won't play at least 75% of games. people acting like he's yao ming.

 

well if he always has some sort of injuries that seem to linger every yr its not a good sign, the heel last yr n the strain this yr might continue going forward

 

he's probably one of the more durable bigs around, tbh. i guess jokic would be the exception, and maybe KAT, too. but embiid's career high games played is basically AD's low.

my opinion is that this year's injury is either the same or related to last year's. had we just sat him to start the year, he'd probably be fine and playing right now. but he wanted to prove a point to, i guess, the fans on this site. so here we are.

 

Offensively , he's a great finisher and scorer but I think he has to become a way better passer to become a true number 1 option .

Plus it's just very difficult for a big to be a number 1 option in today's game ( shoot and make a lot of 3's) and rules with how a defense can zone you up on your post ups and isos , smallers defenders can hack you and get away with it

He's the best 2 way big today and one of the 3rd/4th best 2nd option on a championship team ever ..

Edit : And yes Abeer3 , there are very few number 1 options which can lead you to a title : Bron , Curry , Kawhi did it once but his body is falling off , KD hasn't done it . Giannis and Luka have the potential and that's it .

 

Injuries are part of the game , Curry was injured/limited in the 2016 playoffs too ...

 

how many years in a row was klay thompson all nba before his injuries? i think AD with curry's cast is pretty formidable. i think you're seeing what curry is with AD's former cast right now, too.

my thesis is pretty iron-clad here, as evidenced by the attempts to undermine it. my argument is that AD can't be evaluated in the same way as other "#1"s because lebron is the first star he's ever played with other than himself. he did as well as any star without any other stars on their team save maybe dirk, lebron, and wilt (only guys to compete for/win titles without an allstar teammate).

 

^I would also like to add to that that AD has been absolutely spectacular in the one season and especially postseason when he actually had a good team around him. I understand the concerns with his health, but questions as to whether he's a true No. 1 option are mind boggling to me, seriously. As others have pointed out, if he's not a true No. 1 option, there are maybe 2 in the entire NBA right now, and like 3-4 max every decade.

 

I agree, and it's especially weird considering his spectacular play here when healthy. It was obvious he wasn't healthy when the season started.