Anthony Davis: The Ball-Handler

We all know the story about how Anthony Davis went from playing guard in high school to growing several inches and becoming the big man we know. Having those guard skills at his size makes him a unique specimen and one of the most talented bigs in NBA history.

Against the Denver Nuggets on Monday, we saw AD initiate the offense more than he usually does. LeBron James missed the game and will probably miss at least the next couple games due to a sore ankle, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. Dennis Schröder also missed that game due to health and safety protocols and is expected to miss the next 7-11 days (from when this article comes out), according to Shams Charania and Bill Oram.

James and Schröder are the team’s primary initiators. Missing them creates a massive offensive void. The Lakers had a putrid 97.9 offensive rating versus Denver, according to NBA.com. They are basically having wide receivers play quarterback.

However, this stretch can be helpful for AD getting his rhythm back and expanding his game. Becoming a go-to ball-handler makes him a more effective player. Plus, if he doesn’t have his 2020 athleticism back, this new wrinkle can still make him incredibly effective in a different way. The long term benefit through this experimentation can outweigh some possible short term losses on the team’s record.

Without further to do, let’s dive into the tape and see how AD did when handling the rock.

Attacking the Rim

AD has still been hesitant attacking the rim since his return, but he had a couple nice plays that got him going down hill off the dribble on the perimeter. Below, Davis dribbles up the floor and gets a clear lane to the rim. He misses the dunk attempt, but it’s a clear blocking foul on Nikola Jokic that doesn’t get called.

I like that AD attacks the rim early in the game establishing aggression and physicality. That set a mentality for the rest of the game and it inspired his teammates to play harder. A rising tide lifts all boats and AD is the tide and the role players are the boats.

Below, I love how AD attacks out of the pick n’ roll. He rejects the screen from Andre Drummond, Jokic takes a poor angle, and Davis gets a clear lane to the rim. Not many guys this size can do that.

Pull-Up Jumpers

AD is still leaning (maybe a little too) heavily on his mid-range jumper, but we saw in the Bubble how effective he can be from there. The Nuggets run a lot of drop coverage, especially with Jokic. Usually in drop coverage, the player that’s defending the ball-handler goes over the screen because the screener’s defender is protecting the paint. Below, JaMychal Green goes under the screen set by Montrezl Harrell which gives AD the easy pull-up jumper.

Making shots the defense wants you to take makes you unstoppable. Plus, the threat of AD attacking the basket causes the defense to play the paint more, creating a devastating counter.

However, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for AD’s jumper that game. Below, he rushes a stepback jumper with 13 seconds on the shot clock.

While it wasn’t a terrible shot considering AD can hit that, it was contested and they could’ve gotten a better look. It was congested so maybe AD giving up the rock would’ve resulted in a turnover. Plus, he can make this shot. Credit Aaron Gordon for some good defense on this play and the next one below for the excellent block (one of his four in the game).

Again, credit Gordon for this phenomenal recovery after getting bumped by Drummond’s screen. Davis could’ve hit Dre on the roll here with a bullet pass, although Jokic has great hands (1.4 steals per game). There was not much else available other than maybe pulling the ball out.

Davis also had some rough plays handling the ball (we’ll get to the turnovers right after this). Below, he loses control of his handle and settles for an off-balanced jumper early in the clock. He should’ve passed out to KCP to reset.

Turnovers (4 vs Denver)

As mentioned earlier, AD did struggle a little bit controlling the ball. Below, AD gets a nice rub screen from KCP and tries to post-up out of the action after losing his balance a bit on an in-and-out dribble. Credit PJ Dozier for the good containment.

Davis’ over-dribbling is probably a result of being rusty after sitting out over two months. He’s still getting his handle back in rhythm to a degree. Below, he gets a nice pick n’ roll action with Gasol and just loses control of the ball.

Despite some of these poor reads, I loved this one pass below to Drummond who fumbles it Kwame-style.

As mentioned earlier on the play when Gordon blocked Davis, I thought AD could’ve hit Drummond on the roll. This time, he does and while the pass is a tad bit behind Dre, he should’ve caught it and finished with ease. I love how AD gets Jokic to commit to him because of his scoring threat and rockets the pocket pass to the rolling Drummond.

Leading the Break

In this last section, AD had a couple plays leading a fast break which looked very encouraging. Below, he recovers the ball on the turnover and pushes up the floor. He rightly fires the ball to KCP who is open in the corner, but Gordon closes out well. AD then sees the defense focus on Drummond inside which allows himself to cut to the basket to get the easy finish.

This is just very smart basketball from a player with an underrated IQ. We also see it below when Campazzo is on the ground after a made basket. AD pushes the ball up the court with the 5-on-4 advantage. He skips it to KCP which causes the defense to shift. KCP shovels it to Alex Caruso and you can see AD pointing to Drummond who’s open by the basket. However, Gordon makes another incredible block.

Summary

Anthony Davis is not an ideal primary ball-handler, but I do like seeing him get more action in these types of sets. This can help him expand his game and make him a more well-rounded player. The knock on AD is that he’s not a primary shot creator and plays like these can make him better at that.

With LeBron and Dennis out in the meantime, I’m looking forward to AD in more Giannis-like actions even if it means some growing pains. This will make him and the Lakers better suited for a championship run and have long term sustainability.