Anthony Davis has largely been the primary offensive option for the Los Angeles Lakers during the first quarter of the 2024-25 season.
Head coach JJ Redick stressed he wanted to make Davis the focal point of the offense, and he’s done that by placing the star big man in more advantageous spots to either score himself or facilitate for his teammates. Davis had a quieter scoring night in the Lakers’ most recent win against the Sacramento Kings, but still did his part to help the team win.
Davis’ biggest contributions came on the defensive end, though he was put in a position to seal the game after getting fouled on a jumper in the final minutes. Davis ended up missing both free throws, though Rui Hachimura saved the day by batting out the second miss to Austin Reaves who subsequently drained his pair of free throw tries.
After the game, Davis spoke discussed his missed free throws and didn’t seem discouraged by the results, although he appreciated Hachimura picking him up, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Nah, I don’t want to say I’m frustrated because I liked both of them,” Davis said. “Both were in and out. I feel like I didn’t shoot any differently. They weren’t bad where I like completely missed left, short, right or long. Both were in and out.
“But I definitely appreciate Rui with the tip out. My wife even called me and said ‘Rui saved you.’ That made me feel, like, worse. Whose side you on? But at the end of the day, Rui got the tip out, AR knocked down two and we were able to seal the victory.”
This isn’t the first time that Davis has failed to nail clutch free throws, but this time around the Lakers were fortunate enough to escape with a win. It’s clear that Redick and the coaching staff trust Davis in crunch time, but it might be time to start considering other options.
Regardless, Los Angeles will happily take another road win against a feisty Sacramento team. Hopefully Davis has a better outing from the free throw line when they return home to play the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
LeBron James doesn’t want Anthony Davis’ performances to be taken for granted
As LeBron James nears his 40th birthday, he’s doing his part to empower Anthony Davis and have him lead the team in his stead. With that in mind, James emphasized that he doesn’t want to see Davis’ best games with the Lakers be taken for granted.
