Los Angeles Lakers superstar big man Anthony Davis fought hard to return to the court sooner than many had anticipated. Davis had been playing at arguably the best level of his career prior to going down with a stress reaction in his foot and the Lakers needed him at that level in order to succeed.
Davis has now been back for three games and, as expected, is still working his way back to that prior level. So far he is averaging 21.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks since returning, solid numbers, but not quite at the level he was dominating at earlier this season.
On Tuesday against the New York Knicks, Davis finished with 27 points, nine rebounds and two steals in the Lakers’ overtime win. Afterward, Davis continued to say how he feels good physically but knows it will take some time to get his rhythm back, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I feel good. It’s gonna always take time. I was out five and a half weeks. Even though I played well, I’m starting to get my rhythm back, it’ll still get some time to get back to where I wanna be, where I was. As long as we keep winning, none of that matters how I’m playing. It’s all about wins right now. Especially when we’re trying to chase guys to move up to the rankings.”
Davis is certainly focused on the right thing as the Lakers continue to be on the outside of the playoff picture. But for Davis individually, it will take some time for him to be completely comfortable back on the court.
Regardless of how much you work out before, there is simply no replicating being back on the court and getting that rhythm and feel back in a real game. Davis clearly hasn’t been bad, but he knows the level he is capable of playing at and he hasn’t quite been there yet.
But his presence on the court has still been felt with his work on the glass and ability to block and alter shots at the rim. It is only a matter of time before Davis is back to his dominant form and when that happens the Lakers will be at an entirely different level.
Anthony Davis excited with Lakers’ newest addition Rui Hachimura
Of course, Davis’ return coincided with the debut of the newest Lakers player, forward Rui Hachimura. Davis spoke on his excitement with the addition following his debut game in purple and gold.
“He’s able to do it all,” Davis said of Hachimura. “Anytime I played against him in Washington, he made an impact on the game on both ends of the floor. And tonight we got to feature him in a lot of post-ups.
“Knowing that he can do it all. Really good midrange shooter, get to the basket. He’s got a back-to-the-basket game. Face up. Can shoot the ball.”
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