The Los Angeles Lakers are going to be short-handed for a while. Their superstar big man, Anthony Davis, is reportedly expected to miss at least a month with a foot injury.
Davis had been playing some phenomenal ball, averaging 32.4 points on 64.1% shooting, 14 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game in the 13 games prior to Friday’s versus the Denver Nuggets.
On Sunday, the Lakers survived without him, mustering a 119-117 victory over the Washington Wizards. The victory was their 11th in their last 17 contests.
It will take an all-hands-on-deck effort for them to win at least half of their games without Davis, and these three men in particular will need to play their best.
Lonnie Walker IV
Walker has been having a career season, and he has shown the type of consistency he was never able to maintain in four years with the San Antonio Spurs.
On Sunday he had 21 points on 7-of-12 overall shooting. Even though he hit 2-of-4 from 3-point range, he did a good job of attacking the basket and getting himself some relatively easy shots.
Going into that contest, Walker was averaging 15.2 points a game on 47% overall shooting and 38.5% 3-point shooting. He may have to average at least 20 points a game while Davis is out to keep L.A. afloat.
Russell Westbrook
Since being moved to the bench, Westbrook has done an admirable job of not only pushing the pace and getting others involved but also of accepting his somewhat reduced role.
However, his shooting accuracy hasn’t improved, and his accuracy on layups and shots within 10 feet is actually lower than last season.
Westbrook may not need to score a ton of points in Davis’ absence, but he does need to bump up his scoring average while significantly improving his shooting percentages.
Damian Jones
Jones received very little playing time prior to Davis’ injury. On Sunday, he played 17 minutes and scored eight points.
With Jones, it isn’t necessarily about how many points he scores, but about getting easy baskets on fast breaks and lob passes, securing defensive rebounds and preventing opponents from getting easy shots in the paint.
