It’s looking like Anthony Davis will finally get a chance to play with his new front-court mate on Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks.
Andre Drummond signed with the Lakers while Davis was on the mend, and the two are set to make their long-awaited debut together. Drummond is a more traditional five who lives in the paint and that is the type of big Davis is accustomed to playing alongside.
Ahead of his return, Davis discussed how he and Drummond will work together. “Dre is a good adapter,” Davis said. “We had a couple plays today in practice where we connected, but he’s a good adapter. He’s always asking questions. He asked me the other day, ‘AD, if you catch it here, where do you want me to go? If you are doing this, where do you want me to be?’
“He’s always trying to learn knowing that it’s different when I’m on the floor his role changes a little bit. I think it’s going to be there fairly quickly for us to adapt to each other because we’re both guys who want to learn from each other and want to win at the end of the day. When you got two guys that want to win, you find ways to make it happen.”
Davis added that he has been impressed with Drummond’s play since he joined the Lakers and he only expects it to get better moving forward.
“I think he’s a great fit for us. He’s been great for us so far. I think it’s only going to get better. The more he continues to learn the system and then the more me and him play with each other, we’ll get better. When LeBron [James] comes back, he’s getting his lobs. He can be the Andre Drummond that everybody is looking forward to, which he’s been. But I think he’s going to blossom and I think show everyone why he wanted to come here.”
It is exciting to consider all the possibilities a Drummond-Davis pairing can bring. The two make up arguably the league’s most physically imposing big man duo, and they should feast against smaller lineups on both ends of the floor.
Vogel on Drummond’s fit with Davis
While Davis seems optimistic about how he and Drummond will fit, head coach Frank Vogel preached patience. “I think that stuff takes time,” Vogel said.
“It’s gonna happen mostly in games for us, unfortunately. There’s gonna be some speed bumps along the way, we expect that, but I think them having a little bit of a relationship with USA Basketball and AD playing with Dwight and JaVale last year in our system will make him very familiar to Drum’s role. And obviously Andre will have to get used to playing alongside AD in our system. It’s just one of those things where it’s gonna take time but you have two great players that will figure it out on the fly.”
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