There weren’t a ton of positives coming out of the Los Angeles Lakers’ Opening Night loss to the Golden State Warriors, but one that definitely stood out was the play of big man Anthony Davis. The big man showed no issues with his lower back and was the team’s best player on both ends of the floor finishing with 27 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals.
Davis looked active and energetic both offensively and defensively. He powered his way to the rim for multiple finishes in the paint and also knocked down 7-of-9 free throws. On the other end of the court he was everywhere, constantly challenging and altering shots at the rim while also shooting out for steals that most big men would be unable to get to.
Darvin Ham was extremely encouraged by Davis’ performance and when asked about him after the game, the Lakers head coach said that he believes Davis will continue to get better from here and the team will need him to deliver like this on a nightly basis, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“We need him to do that night in and night out. Just his ability to draw attention, his ability to defend the rim, his ability to get to the free throw line. We need him to do that night in and night out, it’s as simple as that. I’ve been saying it from the day I took this job, all summer, he’s the key to everything. Him being healthy and him performing. And he’s only gonna get better as he gets deeper and deeper into a rhythm, but it doesn’t surprise me. I’m thrilled to see the type of numbers he was able to put up out there we just gotta do it for a full 48 minutes.”
Davis’ night was undoubtedly a reason for optimism on what turned out to be a rough game for L.A. Davis and LeBron James both put up great numbers while Russell Westbrook was also solid, but the Lakers got basically nothing from their role players and the team as a whole shot just 10-of-40 from 3-point range.
There are many improvements that need to be made for this Lakers roster, but Davis staying healthy and performing like this gives is a reason for hope and something that can be built around.
Davis responds to Charles Barkley’s ‘Street Clothes’ nickname
Of course, Davis staying healthy has been the main issue over the past couple of years which has led to a lot of criticism and jokes at his expense. The biggest voice of all has been Charles Barkley, who has taken to calling Davis “Street Clothes” due to his failures to suit up.
This would bother many, but Davis insists he doesn’t care about what he or anyone else says about him. While Barkley doubled down on his comments, Davis simply said that it is their job to talk about him to push their shows and podcasts while it is his job to go out and play and that is what he plans on doing.
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