Darvin Ham reveals his bizarre plan for Anthony Davis
Dec 18, 2020; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) against the Phoenix Suns during a preseason game at Phoenix Suns Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Darvin Ham is going full galaxy brain ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
Speaking with reporters after practice on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers head coach Ham revealed his unexpected plan for Davis this season. Ham would like to see Davis shoot six three-pointers … per game.
“I have requested to see six three-point attempts a game,” said Ham, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Three per half, at least. I wouldn’t put that on him if I didn’t think he was capable.”
That is a really unexpected course to chart for Davis, who attempted just 1.3 triples per game last season. Davis’ career high in that department came in 2019-20 when he launched 3.5 triples per game (meaning that Ham wants Davis to nearly double that career high). Making all of this even weirder is that Davis … well, kind of stinks at shooting threes. He has shot a rancid 23.8 percent from deep in the last three years combined and is under 30 percent (29.96 percent) for his NBA career. Encouraging a low-efficiency shooter like Davis to suddenly start chucking away in Year 12 of his career might do far more harm than good for the Lakers offense.
We already know that Davis has petitioned the team to make a major change to his role this season. But for Ham to turn Davis into a bombs-away stretch 4 runs the risk of offending all things that are holy in the basketball world.
