The Los Angeles Lakers now have a 38-38 record and hold the eighth spot in the Western Conference after winning four of their last five games.
They have had an infamously rough up-and-down season but they are now on the verge of making the play-in games.
A large part of their success has to do with Anthony Davis, who has averaged 23.7 points and 10.8 rebounds on a 61% field goal percentage over the last five games.
Jay Williams had nothing but praise for Davis on Thursday’s episode of First Take.
“Anthony Davis has been an absolute monster since LeBron James has been out and it’s time to start talking about how the narrative needs to be changed around his performance,” Williams said, citing his strong statistics and the improved defense of the team.
.@RealJayWilliams thinks it’s time to start switching the narrative around Anthony Davis 👀
“Anthony Davis has been an absolute MONSTER since LeBron James has been out … and it’s time to start talking about how the narrative needs to be changed around his performance.” pic.twitter.com/mxkOib9EWq
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 30, 2023
For years now, some have claimed that Davis is a soft, injury-prone player who is unreliable.
He has certainly suffered his fair share of season-altering injuries.
But, when healthy, Davis has played a pivotal part for the team.
That is especially true this season.
Davis was putting up MVP-caliber numbers for most of the year before an injury sidelined him for weeks.
Like all NBA stars, he has had both his good and bad moments but he has really been explosive yet again in the last stretch of the season.
The Lakers will need Davis to keep producing as he has been lately.
They first need to fight and remain in play-in contention and then need to get into the playoffs.
The chances of that happening without Davis playing great basketball are slim.
Davis will always have a large number of both fans and critics and right now everyone is paying close attention.
