Anthony Davis Is Frustrated With Wizards’ Lack Of Effort As 44-Point Game Is Wasted vs. Pistons

After missing the last two games due to an injury, Anthony Davis returned to the floor in spectacular fashion on Monday night. With a 44-point outburst against the Detroit Pistons, Davis showed exactly how impactful he can be. Unfortunately, with the Wizards suffering a 122-111 loss at the hands of the Pistons, it is safe to say that his epic performance was wasted.

Anthony Davis started the game off exceptionally well, scoring 30 points in the first half on 10-11 shooting, becoming one of five Wizards players in franchise history to record this many points in a half. Despite this, his eventual stat line of 44 points, 13 rebounds, one assist, and a steal on 16-21 shooting from the field wasn’t enough to secure the victory.

For obvious reasons, this can be frustrating. To that end, however, Anthony Davis didn’t mince his words when voicing what went wrong for the Wizards on Monday night. According to Wizards Central’s Greg Finberg, he shared:

“Everything, everything, everything… We’re not playing any defense… We’re not rebounding. We’re giving up open threes, fouling, and not guarding the ball. Everything.”

Although Davis’ reaction could be considered harsh, there is certainly some basis for it.

In the second and third quarters, the Wizards’ defense was virtually absent, as Washington allowed Detroit to score a combined 72 points during this period. Although they limited the Pistons to just 19 points in the fourth, their 18 turnovers, 23 personal fouls, and abysmal 9-36 shooting from beyond the arc for the game prevented them from making a genuine comeback.

Wizards head coach Brian Keefe also reacted to his team’s struggles, stating:

“We’re a new team. We’re growing and learning. We have to take all this evidence that we have, use it, look at it, and teach and coach. Those are things we’re doing. We just have to build it more consistently.”

Although Keefe maintains a positive outlook on the situation, with the Wizards falling to 4-7 on the season following their third consecutive loss, they are far from being in a favorable position.

It is easy to see why this situation bothers Anthony Davis more. With reports suggesting that Washington will be monitoring Davis’ performances over a 20-30 game period to determine whether he deserves a contract extension, the Wizards’ current record doesn’t inspire much confidence. Still, one can argue that Davis has been playing at an All-Star level.

During his postgame media availability, Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff praised Anthony Davis’ scoring outburst against his team. When asked about the outing, Bickerstaff simply responded:

“I mean, he’s Anthony Davis for a reason, right? He’s got the ability to score in so many ways, whether it’s jump shots, post-ups, or free throws. Like, he has the ability to do that and impact the game in a major way. He’s a Hall of Fame-type player.”

“You give him credit, but I thought we did a really good job of making everybody else work for it,” Bickerstaff continued. “If you’ve got one guy that’s going off, you can do a better job of guarding everybody else. It’s going to be hard for one guy to beat you.”

With averages of 23.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game entering Monday night’s game, Davis was undoubtedly playing at a high level. Unfortunately, given Washington’s lack of consistent scoring production, the Pistons did not have a hard time overpowering the Wizards.

For the most part, losses like these are inevitable over the course of an 82-game season. However, for Anthony Davis, the impact is far more significant.

With several trade rumors surrounding the superstar, his future in Washington is uncertain, to say the least. Hence, if things don’t improve soon, it may even be advisable for Davis to consider other avenues.