Anthony Davis Discussion: That's Why They Pay Me The Big Bucks

You’ve had some very good explanations as to “maybe” why he hasn’t improved on being a sometimes instead of most every game type of offensive beast, such as the injuries and time off rehabbing and getting back in shape …. and seem to be ignoring them. Again what do you want to hear? We agree it would be even greater if AD could get even better. No kidding. Too bad he’s not the perfect or the most robust of players injury wise … with the way he has to play the game.

 

would be nice to see him add something to his game after all these years, last yr he had a full of season since we didn't make playoffs

 

this is bizarre.

no good argument has been offered as to why we should be angry with AD, imo.

other than "y u no bill russell on defense and wilt chamberlain on offense"? which is a totally insane thing to say and is most definitely what is constantly implied.

it's because that beast doesn't exist.

also baffled how jokic is appearing here. jokic's team has masterfully covered for his defensive deficiencies. maybe if we could cover for AD's (relatively less severe, tbh) offensive deficiencies, we'd be in the finals.

though really, we're not in the finals because jamal murray played his very best for four games, and we didn't have any support guys really step up in this series.

 

can you explain the improvements hes had on O since the bubble yr?

 

can you explain the fall of the ottoman empire? it's as relevant to this conversation as your repeated pleas.

 

so you cant, got it...like your "excuse" in his fg% jumpshot and fts decrease its "all in his head"

 

why can't bismack biyombo get a three point shot? if he could, he'd be a perennial allstar. f*** that lazy bum, right?!

sorry, you're offering zero here.

i honestly don't even know what you're trying to argue.

make a statement of fact about AD and how it should affect team-building.

 

make it simple than, where was he 1st 3 qtrs of gm 4?

 

AD can shoot though: he's been a terrific free throw shooter in his career, he's been hit from 3.

It's ok acknowledge that I would not trade him except for a handful of players but also wonder why he can't make the leap.in to the MVP conversation.. he doesn't have to have an Hakeem like post game either or add something impossible for him.

 

Agreed, AD is a game changer and can feel like a cheat code at times. He can literally do everything. One of the major changes is that he naturally became our de facto center. It’s like we’re starting with our version of the death lineup, but he’s had to adjust his game to the team’s needs. If we can’t find any solid centers on a budget, I don’t mind bringing back Bamba & TT and see how AD plays with them at the PF. AD himself said that considers himself as more of a natural PF for all its worth.

 

yeah AD didn't bother showing up until the 4th, but trade him? lol. come on now

 

I think some of us are mad at AD for missing very makeable shots in Game 2 and Game 4 ..

As for Jokic defensively , he did get away in some fouls in this series ... something he didn't get away with in the bubble ( his reputation grew a lot with the 2 MVPs).

Jokic clearly commited 7 to 9 fouls in Game 4 and was whistled for 5 ( hacked AD on his way to the basket in the 1st quarter , may have fouled him on a lob attempt , may have fouled Austin near halftime , definetely fouled AD on his putback dunk in the 4th)

 

The comparison of AD to Jokic is silly. It’s saying: why can’t our generational player be a once in a lifetime player?

Because there just aren’t that many once in a lifetime kind of players, Lebron (all around one of the GOATs), Steph (best 3pt shooter of all time) and Jokic (best play making center and best mid range shooter of all time) are the only 3 drafted since 2000 (maybe we will add Giannis and Luka to that but so far no).

AD is the best defender this side of Dwight, Duncan and Ben Wallace. And he has improved a lot on the defensive side.

 

his career high three point percentage is 34. his career average is 30. his midrange is pretty good again after being down during the two heavily injury-plagued years.

he can't get into the mvp conversation because a) lebron is his teammate, and (as we're seeing on this forum) lebron can do no wrong and AD can do no right, b) he misses too many games, and c) the mvp is a media thing, and the media hates AD almost as much as most laker fans. the absolute disgust on the faces of the others when zach lowe spoke the truth said it all.

also, mostly, defense just isn't sexy. steve nash has two mvps.

the whole team missed makeable shots all series long. rui missed some crucial ones, and he's a folk hero around here. lebron missed almost every three he took for the entire playoffs! he also had an awful game 2, btw. guys miss shots sometimes.

yeah, it is what it is. AD went at him twice after he got 5, iirc, and they just swallowed the whistle on two fouls...sorry...missed FGAs...

the two big differences the AD/jokic matchup to me were that (jokic gets all the calls now) and the fact that denver's defense was set up around stopping AD this time, not lebron. it's something everyone ignored for most of the season, but teams just aren't afraid of lebron getting 50 anymore if you just play him straight up. so they're doubling AD instead and trying to keep him under 25. in game 4 it looked like lebron was going to make them pay, but he ran out of gas. which is what they were counting on.

 

I can't say I don't agree ......100% agree,.......... Another thing I've been thinking about maybe AD shouldn't play Center maybe that's too much for him and it's what makes him disappear

 

AD has always struggled against stronger big men. and there's literally no one in the NBA who can take jokic 1 on 1 anyways. not having someone like dwight or mcgee to put on jokic to let AD roam the paint is one of the two main reasons the lakers lost the series (the other being that denver didn't miss from 3)

they tried to do what they did in 2020 by putting rui/lebron on jokic but it didn't work

 

Man seeing TT set some hard and ferocious screens was also something. No wonder Memphis missed Adams so much. I think a hard and big screen setter opens up the Lakers offense a lot. Maybe a guy like DLo would be playable if he knows he has a guy who will force separation

AD's great and I think with a few steps he can be the best player in the league.
I hate this alpha/beta talk particularly when AD was the key to both the first 2 series which the Lakers won. When AD has been healthy, the Lakers have won 6 out of their last 7 playoff series. This why the Lebron retiring talk seems crazy

That being said I don't like that both the team and him haven't made as much effort/progress in fixable areas - AD improving his jumpshot and the team just abandoning putting him with a real C.

 

the alpha conversation remains incredibly stupid. it's a poorly defined construct that's basically useless, imo. as i've said before, lance stephenson's alpha. congrats, i guess.

as for AD, i agree that he's basically a center now. that doesn't mean we shouldn't have a big guy to wrestle with the really big opponents when needed, but we shouldn't spend too much on one (unless they're a deadeye shooter, I guess).

if AD is ok playing center, we should play him there. ham clearly wants this; his offense wouldn't work with AD at pf and a bigger guy at center.

edit: for the record, i'd start a mason plumlee next to AD and play him 18mpg, with AD closing halves at center. but again, ham doesn't seem ok with that.

 

Our spacing/shooting would be so bad (It's bad already) if AD moved back to 4. Lebron would be the 3 (Can he still play there?) so I don't see how it would work. Maybe if we kept Bamba we could give it a try since he historically can shoot. I'd still like TT back as a 3rd big for the culture.