The Tribune

By INIGO 'NAUGHTY' ZENICAZELAYA

WITH a league leading 19-3 record, the Los Angeles Lakers are back in a huge way, the juggernaut of the NBA at the moment.

It is head coach Frank Vogel’s defence first mentality that has the Lakers firing on all cylinders.

It starts and ends with their ‘D’, and players have bought in wholeheartedly, even LeBron is playing defence again these days.

The catalyst on defence however is PF Anthony Davis hands down.

DEFENSIVE DAVIS

Right now Anthony Davis is the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.(DPOY).

I know it’s early, but Vogel vouched for Davis on Tuesday and teammate LeBron James supported the sentiment after the Lakers’ 121-96 road win over the Jazz on Wednesday.

Maybe Davis will deserve DPOY when it’s all said and done.

More importantly, what matters is the major impact he’s having for a dominant Lakers team - on both ends of the floor.

Davis’ presence on D was a key to the Lakers’ victory.

The Jazz were hesitant around the rim all night, constantly aware of Davis looming.

He blocked three shots but changed plenty more, helping to limit the Jazz to 34 points in the paint, well below their season average.

Davis leads the NBA among all high-volume rim protectors in defensive field-goal percentage allowed at the rim.

And now Davis is even becoming a deterrent much farther away from the bucket.

Three-point shooters beware. If Davis keeps up his torrid pace on both ends of the court, he won’t just be considered for DPOY, his name will also be heavy in the conversation for MVP.

NUMBERS DON’T LIE

The Lakers have the No. 4 defence and No. 6 offence in basketball.

They lead the NBA in blocks and are a top 10 team in terms of rebounding rate and assist-to-turnover ratio.

They are 20th in the NBA in pace but still third in the league in terms of fast-break points per game.

They haven’t lost outside of the city of Los Angeles.

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