The Los Angeles Lakers welcomed Anthony Davis to the court for the first time since Dec. 17, and it resulted in a win.
Davis played 25 minutes against the Brooklyn Nets and posted eight points on 3-of-8 shooting, four blocks, two rebounds, two assists and one steal. Foul trouble and a minor minutes restriction prevented him from playing more, but the impact he has on the team was felt right away.
He logged three of his four blocks in the first quarter and slammed an alley-oop from LeBron James on the opening play.
After the game, James explained what it meant on both ends of the floor to have Davis back.
“Just his presence alone,” James said. “He just makes our team so much more complete. Our length defensively, our ability to really get up and people’s faces because we know we got him at the rim or ability to switch a lot of things because he can literally guard 1 through 5.
“Offensively, he attracts another set of eyes off myself, off Russ, off Melo, off Malik, off everybody because he’s such a dynamic player.”
As Davis continues to get his legs under him, now is the time for the Lakers to go on a run and prepare for a playoff push down the road.
[mm-video type=video id=01ft705jtra58mwjexsn playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01ft705jtra58mwjexsn/01ft705jtra58mwjexsn-8a52f3dd87d77aadbcf705cc6e172427.jpg]
[listicle id=57236]