LOS ANGELES — Before the Lakers’ In-Season Tournament quarterfinal matchup against the Phoenix Suns tipped off, Anthony Davis was in the midst of one of his best offensive stretches of the season.
Davis entered the showdown at Crypto.com Arena averaging 27 points on 56.2% shooting to go with 13.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in the previous five games.
Coach Darvin Ham credited Davis’ scoring production to the Lakers being more organized offensively and playing “less random” by executing more sets.
“The numbers, our analytical department totally [support] that,” Ham said pregame. “When we’re organized and we execute and slow down a little bit – obviously missed shot, you want to play fast, play free.
“But whenever we get a dead-ball situation, after-free-throw situation, or a made basket against us where we can kind of slow down and play through him and initiate different actions that he’s going to be a part of, I think it just allows him to put his fingerprints on the game that much more.”
The biggest area Davis has been involved more in the last couple of weeks has been at the elbows, averaging six elbow touches (leading to 3.2 field goal attempts) in the previous five games compared to 4.1 in his first 15 games.
TOURNEY TALK
The Lakers, who beat the Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz, to advance to the tournament’s quarterfinals have been outspoken about their appreciation of the inaugural league-wide competition.
It seems like the tournament is here to stay based on this season’s success, but have they thought about how it could improve for future iterations?
“I really haven’t,” Ham said. “I mean, I’m sure I’ll have some thoughts once I go back and reflect on these games. But as of right now, no, not really. You’re gonna have your kinks or whatnot and all these fresh ideas that pop up once you initiate the whole process of the tournament.
“But as of right now, we’re submerged in it. So it’s just something you have to sit and think about. I’ve been thinking about trying to get guys healthy and trying to balance out our roster and trying to find a good rhythm on both sides of the ball in a consistent manner.”
The Lakers have also been outspoken about how the prize money for winning the tournament was motivation before the tournament started.
Suns coach and former Lakers coach Frank Vogel wasn’t as explicit when discussing the prize money being a motivating factor but admitted it’s been part of the discussions with his team.
“I don’t like to disclose too much of what we’re talking about behind closed doors, but when we first started talking about the In-Season Tournament, we did mention how it’s not just about the starters or the guys who already make a lot of money getting extra money but how that would sprinkle down to the support staff, to some of the younger players on our roster that it means a little bit more to,” Vogel said. “Some of those guys have had fun talking about the importance of this game.”