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When the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Anthony Davis in July, they didn’t just get one of the premier shot-blockers and rebounders in the NBA — they also got one of the league’s most dominant offensive big men.
Davis has averaged at least 20 points per game in six of the seven seasons he’s played in the NBA, with the one exception being his rookie season. He’s also shot 50% from the field in six of the seven seasons he’s played while attempting at least 15 field goal attempts per game.
Davis isn’t just a high-volume scorer — he’s an efficient scorer, too. However, the one area Davis has struggled with in year’s past is 3-point shooting.
Davis has no problem taking them, but making them has been an issue throughout his career. Prior to this season, the highest Davis ever shot from behind the arc was 34% in a career-high 162 attempts.
That’s not a bad 3-point shooting percentage for a big man, but his head coach, Frank Vogel, knows he can do better, which is why he’s challenging Davis to make more 3-pointers during the three-game road trip they’re on:
Frank Vogel said he challenged Anthony Davis to shoot 5 3’s a game on this road trip. He thinks he can knock them down consistently from there, and it’ll really open up the court and change the way teams have to defend him. He’s made 7 total 3’s in the last 2 games.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) November 23, 2019
So far, Davis has taken that challenge head on, draining seven of the 13 3-pointers he’s attempted on the road trip so far. Additionally, Davis shot 3-5 from behind the arc in the final game of the Lakers’ four-game home stand on Tuesday.
Davis doesn’t need to be a high-volume 3-point shooter to be effective, but the more 3-pointers he attempts, the more comfortable he’ll be taking that shot in rhythm — and the more he’s taking that shot in rhythm, the more defenses have to respect him from out there.
Vogel isn’t the first coach to try and turn Davis into a respectable 3-point shooter, but given the Lakers’ league-leading record, Davis has some extra incentive to listen to his head coach.
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