Dec 31, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) reacts to a play against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t been consistent with their form lately. Since winning the In-Season Tournament (IST) Final, the Lakers have gone 3-8, losing seven of their last nine games. Lakers fans are quite disgruntled with their team’s performance drop as the LA side struggles to maintain a .500 record and a play-in spot in the West. Hence, fans deep-dived into some advanced stats to figure out the root causes for such scathing losses. And what they found involved Anthony Davis once again.

However, Davis’ name didn’t come up because of any injury-related issues. A fan handle named LakersSpin on X (formerly Twitter) recently pointed out how one of the root causes for the Lakers’ downfall was the dipping usage rate of the Lakeshow stars. While LeBron James is ranked 18th in terms of usage in the league, Anthony Davis did not even appear in the top 20 of the list.

Its criminal that Anthony Davis isn't even in the top 20 for usage rate pic.twitter.com/6XLf5kDK5e

— LakersSpin (@LakersSpin) January 2, 2024

In layman’s terms, usage rate is a key stat used to define a player’s role and importance for a team while on the floor. It’s calculated by the percentage of the team’s plays that involves a certain player while he’s on the floor.

In the consolidated list of usage rates, Anthony Davis ranked 36th with a 27.1% usage percentage for the Lakers. This suggests that despite being accorded the status of a leader in the team, along side LeBron, Davis isn’t getting the ball much in his hands compared to other stars of his stature. Furthermore, other Lakers stars, like D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves, also rank low, at 84th and 85th, respectively.

In this case, the fan’s assessment may accurately describe the Lakeshow’s current woes. Davis is averaging 25 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, which is still commendable given his precarious injury status. During the IST, the star center averaged 23.3 points, 14.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, with a particularly dominating 41-point performance against the Pacers in the Finals. The 30-year-old led the tournament in terms of total rebounds (102) and was also second in total blocks (20).

Perhaps, with more of the ball in his hands, Davis can create more of an impact for the Lakers and help them get back to their winning ways, as we saw during the In-Season Tournament.

The Lakers have been struggling defensively this season

The Lakers indeed have been struggling to find their rhythm on the defensive end this season. In their last game against the New Orleans Pelicans on New Year’s Eve, the Pelicans posted 41 points against them by the end of the first quarter.

After the game, Anthony Davis spoke to the press on the Lakers’ defensive struggles on the arc and how it was of utmost importance for the team to get home wins next month. Furthermore, the star center emphasized the importance of players remaining healthy and adjusting to a smaller rotation roster.

Anthony Davis speaks on the Lakers’ defensive struggles on the arc and the importance of getting wins at home next month. pic.twitter.com/Lqvpyusf37

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 1, 2024

Head coach Darvin Ham reiterated the same concern on the issue of losing Rui Hachimura from the game due to a left calf strain. Furthermore, Ham also spoke of the Lakers losing points during fast breaks and turn-overs, which was one of the main reasons behind the Lakers’ loss in that game.

Darvin Ham breaks down the areas the Lakers need to improve and most importantly to stay healthy. pic.twitter.com/3RfTjAOGGl

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 1, 2024

Injuries and reshuffling have left the Lakers playing without Cam Reddish and D’Angelo Russell. The new plan and lineup that Ham used might need to be reworked after Hachimura’s injury in that game. As Anthony Davis rightly pointed out, the Lakers must maintain a healthy lineup and focus on wins for their upcoming games.