Lakers News: Darvin Ham's Plan For Replacing Production Of Anthony Davis
Your Los Angeles Lakers have fallen into a brutal 1-4 record while their best player, All-Star center Anthony Davis, has been put on ice as he recovers from a right foot stress injury.
L.A. head coach Darvin Ham has opted to start 25-year-old journeyman center Thomas Bryant in Davis's stead, and while Bryant is not the same post defender as AD, he has been solid in scoring on drives in pick-and-roll actions, especially with remaining L.A. All-Star LeBron James feeding him.
Recently, Ham spoke with gathered media about how the club is trying to replace Davis's production.
"Definitely you look at rim protection and the ability to rebound, and offensively," Ham said in addressing what elements of Davis's absence are particularly tough to replicate. "There's a big hole left there, so just trying to figure out ways we can make up for the lost production. It may not be the same exact way that he gave it to us but just trying to be creative and see how we can still get points in the paint. How we can put bodies on bodies and gang rebound."
L.A. for now has looked pretty lost sans AD. Ham has tried incredibly tiny lineups in an effort to give the team a different look and find other methods for gang rebounding, to little success. Bryant and, to a lesser extent, his backup Wenyen Gabriel, has been solid in his role. But he can't do it alone. Other Lakers need to step up defensively on the perimeter to try to cut back on allowing easy looks closer to the basket.
Through 25 games this season, Davis is averaging 27.4 points on 59.4% field goal shooting, 12.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.1 blocks a night. That's tough to replace, for anybody.
