In November and early December, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis was playing dominant basketball, and he was quite possibly the best player in the NBA.
That span lasted 13 games, during which Davis averaged 32.4 points on 64.1% shooting, 14 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game.
Since Davis suffered a stress injury in his foot, Thomas Bryant has filled in extremely well, putting up 17.2 points and 10.2 boards a game while shooting 65.8% since Dec. 16, the date of Davis’ injury.
Davis is reportedly progressing well in his rehab, and there is optimism that he could return to game action before the end of January.
When that happens, head coach Darvin Ham could employ more lineups with Davis and Bryant in the frontcourt at the same time.
Via Lakers Daily:
“Absolutely,” Ham said, per Jovan Buha. “I mean, the way A.D. is able to function out on the perimeter, we don’t want him to be too far on that side. We want him to have a happy balance. But definitely. They’re all very highly-skilled players – Bron (LeBron James) , A.D., Thomas. They all can score at all three levels. They all can defend. They all can have good activity, good instincts. So, yeah, that’s something we’ll definitely take a look at.”
Such lineups could benefit the Lakers most on the defensive end, where Davis could play more of a perimeter disrupter role, much as he did during their championship season three years ago.
What would make such lineups possible, especially on the offensive end, is Bryant’s ability to hit the perimeter shot. He isn’t a high-volume 3-point shooter by any means, but he is hitting 45.2% on 1.1 3-point attempts in 22.1 minutes a game this season.
