Tag: Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis has a big goal for Lakers’ upcoming six-game road trip

Anthony Davis is setting the bar high for the Lakers on their upcoming six-game road trip.

With a three-game winning streak under their belts, the Los Angeles Lakers head out on a six-game road trip that begins with a battle against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.

The Bucks are in second place in the Eastern Conference and have been on a roll since the All-Star break. They’ll also want revenge after the Lakers beat them without LeBron James a the start of the month.

Los Angeles may be without James again on Tuesday; he’s listed as doubtful due to ankle soreness. Regardless, Anthony Davis wants his team to go undefeated on this trip, which will take them into April (at 1:54).

“Six,” Davis said when asked how many wins he wants on this trip. “ We want to win every game. I think on this trip, we beat everybody. … So we know we’re capable, but it’s the road. It’s going to be tough, but we got the capability of winning each game. We got to approach it that way.”

L.A. has virtually no shot at finishing sixth in the Western Conference (it is in ninth place and is three games behind the sixth-place Sacramento Kings). But it needs to be playing its best basketball heading into the play-in tournament if it is to have a shot at making the playoffs and going on a deep run there.

Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves were unhappy with Lakers’ defense vs. Pacers

The Lakers beat the Pacers on Sunday despite giving up 145 points, and Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves said they simply need to be better.

The Los Angeles Lakers earned their third win in a row on Sunday by getting past the Indiana Pacers, 150-145. They led by as many as 19 points in the second half, but withstood a furious Indiana rally in the final minutes to improve to 39-32.

The bright spot was the fact Los Angeles scored 150 points, its highest scoring output since the 1986-87 season, even though D’Angelo Russell sat out due to illness. The downside was that, well, it gave up 145 points.

Anthony Davis was downright dominant with 36 points and 16 rebounds. When he was asked about his team scoring 150 points, he turned the attention to the defensive end of the floor.

“(We were) just terrible defensively,” Davis said. “They hit some shots toward the end, some deep 3s. We can do what we want offensively, as you can see tonight, but we have to be able to defend, especially when we’re up on a team like that. Don’t try to give them no life.

“But at this point in this season, a win is a win and we’ll take it but we have to learn from it as well.”

Guard Austin Reaves, who stepped up in Russell’s absence, agreed.

Via Lakers Nation:

“You never want to give up 145,” Reaves said. “They got hot late, I think with under a minute left they probably hit three or four 3s, maybe more.

“But we just got to be better on the ball, in rotations and really just collectively guard as a team. When we do that, you got AD back there making things tough in the paint, we’re a good defensive team or are defensive-minded.”

While the Lakers have been playing at an elite level offensively over the past two months, they have ranked near the bottom of the NBA in multiple defensive categories. They will need to step things up on that end of the court in order to reach the playoffs and do some real damage there.

Anthony Davis is named Western Conference Player of the Week

Lakers superstar big man Anthony Davis was rewarded for his excellent play during his team’s three-game winning streak.

The Los Angeles Lakers have rebounded from costly losses to the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors to win three games in a row. As a result, they have firm control of ninth place in the Western Conference and lead the 10th-place Warriors by 2 1/2 games.

While a number of other Lakers players have played well in their last three games, Anthony Davis has led the way. He has averaged 27 points on a ridiculous 68.6% field-goal shooting, 16.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2 blocked shots a game during this current winning streak.

As a result of that production, he was named the Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday.

The superstar big man started last week with 22 points, 15 rebounds and six assists in Monday’s blowout win over the Atlanta Hawks. When L.A. wrestled its way past the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, he devoured 19 rebounds while scoring 23 points and rejecting four shots.

In Sunday’s victory over the Indiana Pacers, Davis had 16 rebounds, but he was also dominant offensively with 36 points.

On the season, he’s averaging 24.6 points while shooting 55.8% overall, 12.5 boards, 3.6 assists and 2.4 blocks per contest.

This is the 10th time he has won the Western Conference Player of the Week award.

Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell: LeBron James is locked in

Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell can sense that LeBron James is raising his game a notch or two with the postseason nearing.

There are times when it seems LeBron James is conserving his energy to the point where his critics accuse him of lacking focus or even not caring. But he has been playing brilliant basketball, at least statistically, this season, and it has held up to this late point of the season.

The 39-year-old is averaging 25.5 points, 8.1 assists and 7.2 rebounds a game this season, and his efficiency (53.2% from the field and 40.6% from 3-point range) is higher than it has been in years. In fact, so far in March, he’s shooting an outstanding 58.8% while putting up 26.9 points, 9.6 dimes and 8.0 rebounds per contest.

Anthony Davis says James is starting to get into playoff mode.

Via Lakers Nation:

“Bron is Bron,” Davis said. “Obviously, it’s that time of the year. Shooting the ball extremely well. In attack mode finding guys. He’s been locked in defensively. So it’s that time of year, especially for us, where every game is a playoff game. So the time of the year, extensively lock in and get the job done.”

Davis has previously witnessed James playing with a heightened sense of urgency during the postseason and leading into the playoffs, most notably when the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship in 2020. Even last season, when he was dealing with a foot injury, James ramped up his production and helped them reach the Western Conference finals.

Starting guard D’Angelo Russell can also sense that James is ratcheting things up a notch or two.

“I mean, yeah,” Russell said. “His play is obviously showing that. Knowing that there’s what 13 or 14 games left? I think everybody has that in the back of their minds knowing that we’re coming to the end of the season, regular season, and whatnot. Trying to get in playoff form mentally and physically. Physically is always there, mentally I feel like he’s always there as well. I mean, he’s still dominates the game at that age, so I still feel like he’s there, too.”

With L.A. fighting to make sure it reaches the play-in tournament and finishes with as high a seed as possible, it will need James to continue to show a heightened sense of urgency. But what it needs even more so is good health and healthy production from everyone else if it is to duplicate last spring’s unexpected run.

Anthony Davis’ status update versus the Hawks after eye injury

Will Anthony Davis play for the Lakers on Monday after getting poked in the eye on Saturday?

The Los Angeles Lakers lost yet another important game on Saturday, this time to the Golden State Warriors, 128-121. As a result, they have fallen into 10th place in the Western Conference behind the Warriors, and they’re three full games behind the eighth-place Phoenix Suns.

To add injury to insult, the Lakers lost Anthony Davis during Saturday’s contest. He was poked in the eye during the first quarter, and after leaving the game toward the end of the period, he didn’t return. His absence was very conspicuous, especially on the defensive end.

The superstar big man is listed as questionable for Monday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.

The good news is that, according to a source, he has been improving. He reportedly had so much swelling in his hurt eye that it was swollen shut.

Los Angeles is 6-6 since the All-Star break, and it could be on the verge of gradually falling apart as the regular season winds down.

Anthony Davis will not return to Lakers vs. Warriors game

The Lakers lost one of their superstars early in Saturday’s game versus the Warriors.

These days, it seems like every game is critical for the Los Angeles Lakers —  because every game is critical. On Saturday, they hosted the Golden State Warriors, a team that was one game behind them in the standings and one spot behind them in 10th place in the Western Conference.

The Lakers were competitive through the first half and the early minutes of the third quarter. Unfortunately, they will have to continue to go to war with Stephen Curry and company without one of their superstars.

Early in the contest, Anthony Davis was poked in the eye and had to head to the locker room. He will miss the rest of the game.

In 12 minutes, Davis scored eight points while also contributing four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot.

NBA Twitter reacts to Anthony Davis’ huge performance vs. Timberwolves: ‘Defensive Player of the Year’

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to Anthony Davis’ huge performance against the Timberwolves.

Anthony Davis was unstoppable Sunday night in the Lakers’ 120-109 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

AD became the first player to put up 27 points, 25 rebounds, five assists, seven steals, and three blocks.

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to his incredible performance.

Anthony Davis did something on Sunday no NBA player had ever done before

With some outstanding numbers in the Lakers’ win over the Timberwolves on Sunday, Anthony Davis achieved a first in NBA history.

Anthony Davis might be having his best season yet this year for the Los Angeles Lakers. While his scoring average is down compared to last season, he’s still averaging 24.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.5 blocked shots a game.

He has improved his free-throw shooting compared to recent season, and he has remained relatively healthy. He has missed just four games so far.

On Sunday, he led the way against a depleted Minnesota Timberwolves team that was missing Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. He scored 27 points, devoured 25 rebounds and added seven steals, five assists and three blocked shots in a 120-109 win.

It made him the first player in NBA history to post at least 25 points, 25 rebounds, five assists and five steals in a single contest.

Davis may be nearing his 31st birthday, but he is at the height of his powers right now, and the Lakers have been benefiting from his consistent dominance.

Anthony Davis’ status update after hurting his shoulder on Friday

How likely is it that Anthony Davis will play in Sunday’s Lakers versus Timberwolves game after hurting his shoulder on Friday?

The Los Angeles Lakers achieved a thrilling 123-122 victory on Friday over the surging Milwaukee Bucks. They truly earned it: LeBron James didn’t play due to serious ankle pain, and they had to overcome a late 118-112 deficit to come out on top.

D’Angelo Russell led the way with a sensational 44 points, which included nine 3-pointers. Anthony Davis also did his job with 22 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots, but he was ineffective in the fourth quarter due to an injured shoulder.

Los Angeles will host the Minnesota Timberwolves, one of the best teams in the Western Conference, on Sunday as it continues a very challenging stretch of games. The good news is Davis is listed as questionable for that contest, as is LeBron James.

The Lakers are ninth in the Western Conference with a 35-30 record, and they’re just 2 1/2 games behind the sixth-place Sacramento Kings.

Did Anthony Davis criticize Darvin Ham’s defensive game plan vs. Kings?

Lakers superstar made an interesting comment after his team got blown out by the Kings regarding their defensive strategy on De’Aaron Fox.

After building an early 19-point lead versus the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Lakers came apart at the seams. It happened quickly, and they never recovered, losing 130-120 in a game that was more lopsided than that score may suggest.

They were lit up like the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza, especially in the second quarter, when Sacramento made 14 straight shots, outscored them 44-20 and seemingly couldn’t miss from 3-point range. De’Aaron Fox tied his career-high with 44 points, and L.A. seemingly couldn’t do anything to at least make him work for his points.

Anthony Davis, who spent a good portion of the game in foul trouble, said something after the game that may have sounded to some as if he was second-guessing head coach Darvin Ham’s defensive strategy (at :58).

“That was a game that we needed. … We came out with all the energy on both ends of the floor. And then the second quarter dictated the game. Some of the things we were in defensively allowed De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk to get whatever they want, live up in the paint. If I go help, then (Domantas) Sabonis is wide open.”

“They did a good job manipulating what we were doing.”

Ham said his team needed to force Fox, who is left-handed, to go to his right. But Fox was able to get a lot of his points in the paint, and there simply wasn’t enough defensive pressure on the perimeter in general, which has been a problem for L.A. all season.

Fans and pundits alike have criticized Ham for his strategy, rotations and lineups. With each inexcusable loss such as Wednesday’s, more eyes will be fixated on him as he attempts to guide his squad back to the playoffs.