Anthony Davis has seemingly found his groove midway through the 2019-20 NBA season, showing off the skills and abilities on both ends of the floor that made the blockbuster trade with the New Orleans Pelicans more than worth it for the Los Angeles Lakers.
On an emotional-filled night against the Portland Trail Blazers, Davis put up a monster double-double of 37 points and 15 rebounds and added five blocks to boot. The 26-year-old followed that up with another solid performance against the Sacramento Kings, scoring 21 points 5-of-9 shooting and hitting all 10 of his free throw attempts.
After the win against the Kings, Davis discussed the team’s ability to win on the road against Western Conference teams, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“We’re gonna have to get through one of these teams… maybe three of them. We just wanna make sure we lock in on the road no matter what it’s Eastern Conference, Western Conference. Obviously we see these guys a lot and one of these teams is going to be the… well couple of these teams the teams that we’re going to see in the playoffs.
It’s good to get wins on them and just kinda feel good about ourselves going into any series, but no one caught wind of that. But we just try to go out and be as dominant as we can every night no matter who the opponent is or what conference and come out and get the win.”
So far, Los Angeles has managed to win 15 consecutive games on the road against the Western Conference, the first such occurrence in NBA history. Although it is not a normal thing for people to keep an eye out for, it does provide a testament to just how good the Lakers have been away from Staples Center.
Winning on the road is typically a sign of good teams as those environments do not provide the same energy and lift that a home arena can give a team. However, it should be noted the Lakers enjoy one of the most dedicated and loyal fanbases around the league and it is not hard to spot Lakers fans in opposing arenas, perhaps a reason why they do not feel the effects of a road venue like the other teams do.
Regardless, it is an impressive feat the purple and gold can hang their hat on midway through the season. Davis’ two-way dominance is one of the primary reasons for their prosperity and he will be the key for them as the season wears on.