On Wednesday morning, JJ Redick said that Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers would never be an “alpha” player and that fans should stop expecting that from him.
On Thursday, Brian Windhorst responded with a strong defense.
Admitting that he has his issues – “he becomes a wallflower and he has injury issues” – Windhorst also said that Davis “has a decade-long career where he has shown flashes of absolute brilliance.”
He stated that Davis has been stunning in previous seasons and was amazing during this recent season and playoff run too.
.@WindhorstESPN reacts to @jj_redick saying Anthony Davis is NOT an alpha:
“He has a decade-long career where he has shown flashes of absolute dominance … times when he becomes a wallflower, and he has injury issues. … I don’t know why anybody expects anything different.” pic.twitter.com/kvj500ehKP
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 25, 2023
Windhorst noted that the Lakers exchanged a lot to get Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans a few years ago.
They haven’t regretted it since, according to Windhorst.
Sure, Davis experiences many injuries and sometimes isn’t as fierce as he should be.
But the Lakers have another championship banner partly due to him.
Windhorst and Redick have made a very fair point about Davis.
People should stop expecting him to be the consistent leader that LeBron James is.
But who can really live up to the standards that James sets?
Since the Lakers lost in the Western Conference Finals last week, some have started criticizing Davis.
They have been calling out his troubling pattern of having a good game followed by a bad one as well as his trouble with injuries.
But as pointed out by Windhorst: Davis isn’t perfect but he is still one of the most accomplished and capable big men in the league.
The problem is that he last went up against Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
Jokic is younger and better in a number of ways.
But just because Davis was taken out of the equation by Jokic doesn’t mean he’s suddenly a bad player.
He definitely doesn’t perform as well or as regularly as some Lakers fans want.
But Davis is still perhaps the most pivotal player on the Lakers – and might be for some time.
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Nick Wright Shares Why The Lakers Should Already Retire LeBron’s Number
