Player Breakdowns: Anthony Davis, The Head Honcho

With the New Orleans Pelicans’ first preseason game tipping off on Tuesday, anticipation is high. In this crucial extension of our Player Breakdowns we cover superstar Anthony Davis. With an otherworldly  game that continues to improve, Davis is approaching a stature that not many players reach. It’s important that he does, as New Orleans has little room for error in the 2017-18 season.

There has been plenty of conversation in regards to the New Orleans Pelicans and their supporting cast this off-season. From DeMarcus Cousins, to Jrue Holiday, to Rajon Rondo, every piece of the roster has been dissected. The franchise, however, starts and ends with Superstar Anthony Davis. That isn’t news to anyone, as for the past 5 years Davis has worked to stake his claim among the NBA’s elite.

Every offseason, he’s improved a portion of his game. After each of his first two seasons, AD managed to bulk up, allowing him to be more dominant down low. Going into year four he improved upon his shooting range and consistency, making him an even more lethal scorer. After year four his isolation game needed work, and so did his team defense and discipline. So, what did he do? He anchored the Pelicans to a top 10 Defensive rating and averaged 2.2 BPG along the way. It’s not often we see a star who’s able to improve upon an aspect of his game year after year. The Anthony Davis from the 2016-17 season showed the best overall version we’ve seen yet.

Those Kevin Garnett comparisons he received weren’t  so crazy after all.

We know all about AD’s size and his athletic prowess. After being considered too “frail” for his position, Anthony bulked up from 222 lbs to his current weight of 254 lbs.

That’s heavier than Sixers star Joel Embiid (approximately (149 lbs) who is a legit sized center. It’s also bigger than Karl Anthony Towns (approximately 147 lbs) who Davis has often been compared with. When breaking Davis down it’s important to remember it’s possible we have still seen nothing like “The Brow”. His best years seem to still be in front of him.

Offensively

There have been many phases Davis has gone through offensively since joining the NBA.  Because of his thin frame early in his career he struggled to attain and keep his position down low. For almost three years Davis was an uber athletic pick and roll/pop specialist. Teams learned to play him tight and force him to score using multiple dribbles. To combat this, we saw Davis transition into more face up opportunities, using his quickness to get good looks.

Once teams caught on to his tendencies however, they would double, forcing him to act more decisively once the ball was in his hands. Davis made the best of his opportunities.

Davis, in an instant is able to pick up top speed as he runs like a frolicking deer. However, unlike most men of his size, Davis does it in a controlled manner. He never looks uncomfortable jetting down the floor, with or without the basketball. You can thank his days as a point guard in high school for that, as even in his rookie year Davis was a threat coming full speed down the floor.

He also, possesses an almost automatic midrange game, whether it be spot up or off the dribble. His size alone allows him to score with ease off offensive rebounds and put-backs.

Last season Davis made 137 of his 770 field goals between 15-19 feet. The most since his 2014-15 campaign where he helped lead the Pelicans to the playoffs. This being Davis’ most comfortable area of the floor, in a year where his game allowed him to score from a plethora of positions, is quite impressive. Years prior, Davis would force shots, and moves he hadn’t yet perfected. Patience and an improved arsenal allowed AD to take jump shots from his preferred spots at will.

One interesting improvement was his work on a go-to move. Every great player should have one.

Dirk Nowitzki has his fade-away.

Tim Duncan had the bank-shot.

James Harden has a famous Euro-Step.

For Anthony, it’s undoubtedly his jab and go move.

MUST READ: Season Goals – Anthony Davis’ Offensive Efficiency 

This move for Davis is deadly for many reasons, his ability to get a defender out of a position into a jumpshot. His quickness, which allows him to drive to the hoop and finish, and transition into his quirky floater.

This floater/runner may be his signature shot. Even though, in most cases, it’s off of the wrong foot and by his inside hand, it’s very effective for him.

Davis has plenty of other crafty tools, including a swift right hook, and a turn around fade-away. There’s not much left for Davis to improve on the offensive side of the learning tree which as great as he is, is still a slight surprise at the young age of 24.

Running alongside new playmakers like Rondo, and the increasing familiarity with Boogie; expect Davis to have an even easier time scoring this season.

Defensively

Davis has always been a menacing weak side shot blocker. From day one his 8’0″ wingspan has allowed him to catch up to players who get in front of him, as well as players yards away on close out shots.

In years past, Davis could be bullied into fouls or favorable looks. He also struggled staying disciplined at shot fakes, and could easily be caught out of position. The team’s defense overall struggled immensely at times because of this. Davis would have lapses of effort, judgement, and lacked communication. However, this is quite common for young players trying to get acclimated to the NBA game.

Last season, however, Davis changed his way, helping the Pelicans become a top 10 rated defense. To put that in perspective, since Davis was drafted the team never finished higher than 22nd.

This finally helped Davis’ measurables match his play. Out of the players that averaged at least 30 minutes a game last year, Davis was 11th in defensive rating. Davis’ effort never faltered, he was focused every possession, and communicated freely helping his teammates on the floor.

"“I’m doing it within the team defense,” Davis said mid season last year. “We’re big on helping each other, if someone gets beat off the dribble. I’m kind of that low man trying to get a block. It’s about taking pride on defense, guarding one-on-one. Any time I feel like I can go get a shot, I try to. I just try to go get whoever’s at the rim.”"

Those were things a less mature Davis, on a younger team rarely went into detail about. Now, with Tony Allen aboard and Jrue Holiday predicted to take on different match-ups daily, the defense in NOLA has the potential to be even better. Expect AD to expand his game even more this season with a few additional perimeter assignments. NOLA seems to believe defense will be their identity.

That starts and ends with AD.

Weaknesses

Years ago, leadership was a big question mark with Davis. Off the floor he seemed to let veteran players take charge. Former Coach Monty Williams had to often tell Davis to be more aggressive. It was never Davis’ style to be vocal amongst his players. He preferred to lead by example however, this was not enough for the Pelicans.

Davis, in turn, became more assertive, and the team took notice. While he still doesn’t demand the ball as much as people would like, he is no longer shy about shooting. Davis shot 20.9 attempts per game last season, third in the NBA. Now more assertive, defensively sound, and offensively prepared what does Davis lack?

He could possibly try to improve upon his passing and acknowledge double teams quicker, but the guy is as selfish as players come. Beggars can’t be choosers. This leads to Anthony Davis’ biggest weakness.

While Davis played a career high 75 games last season, that number is deceiving. There were six different games last season where Davis left the game early and did not return. Early in his career, AD’s slender build affected his health. Davis would often collide awkwardly with other players and end up taking the worst of the contact.

Last season with a bigger build Davis didn’t have as much tough luck with collisions; he did however get hit awkwardly and would sacrifice his body in ways that made Pels fans cringe with fear.

If AD can manage to stay on the floor, he could find himself being well on his way towards the label of the best player in basketball.

Outlook

So there’s a ceiling right? Anthony Davis was a freak before Giannis Antetokounmpo, and a unicorn before Kristaps Porzingis. We assume that at some point we’ll reach a day where AD reaches LeBron  James status and he basically maxes out his talents.

For today however he still remains imperfect. Still at the young age of 24, Davis is entering his most crucial season. If the Cousins, Holiday, and Rondo, experiment doesn’t work, Davis will partially be to blame.

The team could in turn break up after a short time together. However, if history repeats itself, that won’t happen as Anthony will again take his already elite game, to another stratosphere.