When it comes to situations like Wednesday night’s return to New Orleans for Anthony Davis, LeBron James is the NBA’s foremost expert. So to hear that he believes Davis is doing a good job of handling his nerves in anticipation of his first game in New Orleans as a visitor should be an encouraging sign for Lakers fans hoping their team picks up their ninth straight win.
James was approached about how he felt like Davis was handling the situation, which James believed he is handling “exceptionally well.” To him, the most important thing that Davis can do is stay in the moment and let basketball become the focus, according to USA TODAY’s Mark Medina.
“He’s been anticipating that moment, and now the moment is here,” James said. “So I think he’s handled it exceptionally well, and the excitement, the jitters, the butterflies and everything like that will grow as the day goes on. But once that tip-off begins, that’s the main thing. Just try to win the basketball game.”
As we’ve written here before but it bears repeating, there’s no chance that what happens in New Orleans will be anything like what happened to LeBron when he came back to Cleveland in 2010. While Davis did leave the Pelicans in an awkward exit, New Orleans is not his hometown and the Pelicans came out with a King’s ransom in return for Davis, including their leading scorer this season Brandon Ingram. Not to mention the fact they won the lottery and are still waiting on No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson to play.
Things may have ended poorly but rare is the NBA break up that ends well. All things considered, the Lakers have a chance to win their ninth straight and move to 16-2. And that’s a story even the most optimistic of Lakers fans wouldn’t have expected heading into Thanksgiving.