Anthony Davis anchoring Lakers’ defense despite hip injury

PORTLAND, Ore. — If one watches how Anthony Davis has been moving around the floor recently – or simply looks at the Lakers’ pregame injury reports – it’s evident the 30-year-old big man has been hampered by his left adductor/hip spasms.

Or a look at his statistical production since suffering the injury will help paint the picture.

Davis’ stats in his first six games before suffering the injury in the Nov. 6 road loss to the Miami Heat: 26.3 points (55.1% shooting on 17.8 field-goal attempts), 13 rebounds, 3.7 blocks, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 38.8 minutes.

His numbers in his last five games since returning from a one-game injury absence: 18.4 points (45.2% shooting on 14.6 attempts), 11.6 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, 3.4 assists and 0.6 steals in 34.7 minutes.

“I’m all right,” Davis said after the Lakers’ in-season tournament road win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. “Unfortunately this thing, it’s still bothering me but I’m going to try to go out there and compete. Obviously not being who I am offensively. My shot’s not falling and the leaping abilities and all that stuff just [aren’t] back to where it was, but I try to just make up for it on the defensive end and try to impact the game other than scoring.”

Despite being physically limited and his offensive production/efficiency dipping because of his injury, Davis has remained the focal point of the Lakers’ defense. He plays many defensive roles, but one of his main ones is blocking off the paint and altering shots near the rim.

He’s forced opponents to shoot 10.8% worse than they normally would on shots within six feet of the rim when he’s the closest defender – the league’s seventh-best mark among 39 players who defended at least 5.5 of these attempts per game and played at least eight games entering Saturday. If he sustained this for the entire season, it would be his best mark since the 2019-20 season, when he forced opponents to shoot a career-best 11.4% worse than they normally would on shots within six feet of the rim.

Davis has been even more dominant than usual in this area over the last week, forcing opponents to shoot 15.5% worse within six feet of the rim when he’s the closest defender in the last five games. The Blazers on Friday shot four of 10 (40%) within six feet of the basket when Davis was the closest defender.

“I check in with him all the time,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “He tells me he’s great. Whether he’s feeling all the [100%] or not, he wants to be there for us and our team. He’s a prideful young man and we appreciate him trying to make himself available at all times. Best believe we wouldn’t send him out there if he wasn’t physically able to carry the load he’s carrying.”

Despite Davis’ strengths as a shot blocker and rim protector, teams still attack the paint at a similar frequency when he’s in the game vs. when he’s not – which Davis welcomes. Opponents shoot 10.1% worse at the rim (within four feet of the basket) and 13.9% in the short midrange area (4-14 feet) when Davis is on the floor according to Cleaning The Glass.

Davis wants the Lakers’ perimeter defenders to funnel opponents to him. He sees his role in the team’s defense as an all-encompassing one.

“I’m the D-line, the linebacker, safety, cornerback – everything,” Davis said. “I’m everywhere. I just try to be there for the team. I tell the guys to pressure the ball and funnel them to me and I’m going to help you guys. And if I try to go block a shot, alter a shot, then you guys just crack back on whoever the big is, get him off the glass and get rebounds. I just try to be the anchor for the guys, knowing that they got protection on the backline and give them enough confidence to go out and pressure the ball.”