Anthony Davis was a monster on Monday night. He was the best player on the court for long stretches of the game. But the Washington Wizards still lost to the Detroit Pistons. Comfortably. It wasn’t a particularly close game, especially once the second half got underway. Davis’ individual dominance didn’t translate into a team effort.
The Wizards ended the night with only 16 assists. Obviously, the shots have to go in for an assist to count, and the Wizards only made 41 shots (nine threes). But the Pistons only made 43 shots (eight threes), and they managed to dish out 31 assists. A clear improvement over the Wizards.
That, plus Washington’s turnover problems, was the reason Davis’ performance didn’t lead to a victory on Monday night.
Anthony Davis' scoring isn't good enough if it's not paired with team basketball
Davis wasn’t just great; he was incredible. It felt like he was bending the game to his will. Getting whatever he wanted on the basketball court. It was really fun to watch.
By the end of the night, he had put up 44 points, 13 rebounds, one assist, and one steal. He shot an impressive 16-of-21 from the field, 2-of-4 from beyond the three-point line, and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line.
He was the leading scorer in the game. Yet it didn’t matter. The Wizards still lost the game, and it wasn’t really close. Detroit controlled everything for most of the night.
Why? How did the Wizards manage to throw away such a dominant performance from Davis? Well, they didn’t really play an amazing team game.
Washington’s starters did the heavy lifting in the scoring column. In addition to Davis’ 44 points, AJ Dybantsa scored 21 points, and Trae Young dropped 20 of his own.
But again, the Wizards only dished out 16 assists on their 41 made shots. It was a very isolation-dominant performance by Washington, and that’s not usually going to win a ton of games.
The Wizards also turned the ball over 18 times. Just not good enough.
That said, the passing really stood out. The Wizards’ lack of assists on the night. It’s always good to get a dominant scoring performance from a player, but when that night comes in a blowout with underwhelming ball movement, it’s less impactful.
Washington will need more nights like this from Davis. It will need him, Dybantsa, and Young to step up to the plate and deliver in the scoring column.
But that dominance has to be paired with a better all-around team game if the Wizards want to stack up wins.
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