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

Agree with the 3rd option.

We'll see.

 

By my count, he took at least 2 charges today. That will inspire the rest of team when your best player sacrifices his body to make defensive winning plays.

 

I don't get this 3rd option nonsense. We never had one for the 3-peat with Kobe and Shaq. Vets just need to step up. Some nights Bradley will contribute, some nights it will be Kuz or Caruso. That's how our team is set up. That's why we're unpredictable and so damn lethal. We just need to step up our defense, crash the boards, make the hustle plays, and keep the TO's down. The rest will take care of itself.

 

Were Garnett and Duncan at guarding wings as AD? I remember Dwight was a freak in Orl at this but it remains Davis's greatest strength relative to other big playing right now is his ability to be an elite rim protector while also being able to guard elite guards and SF when switched out. An ideal defensive big for this era of the NBA

Obviously Giannis can do this but he's more of a hybrid SF/PF. Struggling to remember another PF/C with Davis's switchability. John Salley? Hakeem? D Rob?.

 

I love the timely buckets KCP hit against the jock sniffers. He and Bradley stepped up big today. Vogel shortened the bench in the second half with no Dwight and no Caruso. Caruso gonna have to be able to step up and shoot in pressure situations.

The refs have it in for Dwight. If we could have kept him in the game , PG13 wouldn’t have been able to walk to the basket the way he did.

 

I'm sure he works on core strength, but adding mass could be a double-edged sword.

He's been pretty durable this season which suggests he's where he needs to be physically.

 

AD has not shied away from the moment and has come up big on both ends against the two teams standing between us and a championship. Contagious energy on D with the pressure, the charges, the switches, and playing the passing lanes. All while leading the league in scoring this month (albeit 9 days in).

 

I think they like each other

 

Minny KG could play some big SFs. But positions are much less defined these days and the traditional center is dead (Houston is starting a dwarf). All that said, being able to guard nearly anyone on the floor is very rare even in today's fluid NBA. Having that ability will put you in all time great conversations.

 

Aww...
I got warm and fuzzy inside watching that

 

Too soon ... or should come from @KareemtheGreat33 ? ... “Lebron and AD sittin’ in a tree” .....

 

The game is completely different from when it was back then... Plus, as good as Bron and Davis are, Shaq was an unguardable force in the paint. He could bail you out if needed with an almost guaranteed bucket. It's just a vastly different style of basketball and most contenders have 2-3 really good players.

 

The Lakers have the best duo out od all the contenders though.

I was also wondering whether the fact that we don't have a clear third option, but instead a group of players all od which are capable od scoring in the teens or even more than 20 on occasion is a weakness, or actually a strength. Yes it would probably feel more comfortable to know you have one particular, reliable third option, but the current set up makes us also more difficult to plan against.

I'm not saying I wouldn't definitely prefer a third option on the team, but this is something that's been going though my mind and I just don't know. Maybe we are up to something here with multiple "fourth options".

 

My point is, we can't always rely on AD+Bron to carry the team. The other guys have to be able to contribute whether it is a third option or through a collective contribution. Yesterday, LeBron was able to get his rest and the team didn't plummet and actually played very well without Bron. That's what we're going to need. Plus, what if LeBron or AD has an off night? Other guys have to step up and be that 3rd-4th-5th option. Danny Green gets paid $15 million. That's about a third option type salary. He and others have to find ways to contribute instead of saying we just have the best duo.