"His career has gone in the wrong direction” - Bill Simmons confused and concerned by Anthony Davis’ performances in his peak years
NBA analyst Bill Simmons has shared his concerns about Anthony Davis' epileptic performances this season.
Anthony Davis and the LA Lakers have had a poor 2021-22 NBA season so far. Their terrible run has made fans and media personalities rule them out as a possible playoff team.
They have conceded a total of five consecutive losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns, and San Antonio Spurs, and more recently to the Brooklyn Nets. Their poor run has seen them attain a 16-18 record, which places them at 7th in the NBA Western Conference standings.
Anthony Davis has had to sit out the last four games due to a knee injury. He sustained a sprain on his medial collateral ligament and should be re-evaluated by mid-January. But even before he got injured, the center was performing below expectations.
Ben Simmons right now would be more valuable to the Lakers than Anthony Davis. More @Undisputed, now on FS1
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Bill Simmons suggested that the center's dwindling stats have created a cause for concern, particularly since these are supposed to be his peak years.
"His career has gone in the wrong direction. If your free throw attempts are going down, your rebounds are going down, your field goal percentage is going down. Your points have gone down and you're in your late 20s. That doesn't make sense. You should be peaking in your late 20s. And you look at players like Garnett you look at the consistency, Duncan had the consistency. They never were going down. And I think with AD, the stats really makes me nervous."
Simmons further questioned AD's consistency, suggesting that to be a key factor shaping the careers of NBA legends.
Taking a look at Anthony Davis' 2021-22 NBA season run
Anthony Davis is currently in his third season with the LA Lakers, making him part of the super team. But the hype and expectations endeared to the super team have yielded no positive results thus far.
His 2020-21 season was hampered by injuries that saw him appear in only 36 games. Having gained a full recovery, it was expected that Unibrow would come into the new season roaring. But he has been rather docile, with not many highlights to his name.
In 27 appearances this season, he has posted an average of 23.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, and completed 2.9 assists per game. Having featured for 35.4 minutes per game, Anthony Davis has only mustered 0.4 threes in 2.1 attempts, registering a 17.9% accuracy from beyond the arc. His free throw accuracy is his worst yet since the beginning of his career in the NBA.
Anthony Davis struggled to get to the locker room after an apparent knee injury in the third quarter. https://t.co/MOBSzzrYYJ
So far, the 8-time All-Star has not put up an All-Star-worthy performance this season. Since joining the Lakers, Anthony Davis has yet to attain his career-best as we saw in his time with the New Orleans Pelicans.