Tag: Klutch Sports

Anthony Davis makes return to New Orleans to close out Lakers trip

Anthony Davis is back in New Orleans and while he has plenty of feelings about it, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to stay hot.

That was all, folks, but this is now. Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers are in New Orleans as The Brow will play his first game against against the Pelicans after orchestrating his exit from the Big Easy just over 10 months ago.

While a majority of the coverage surrounding this game is concerning itself with the reception Davis will get, or whether he will get a tribute video, Davis is in an uncommon position as a returning player by also being on the same team as LeBron James. Nothing will ever be worse than LeBron’s 2010 return to Cleveland and no matter how things went, Davis is surrounded by veterans who know what’s like to be disliked.

Having LeBron on Davis’ side tonight could be the ultimate weapon while also being another validation that he made the right call leaving New Orleans. Davis has admitted that he will be a little nervous heading into this game and why wouldn’t he? After seven years of his formative years, it would be impossible for him not to have them, a reality LeBron knows well.

But as for the practical, Davis, James and the Lakers can fall back on their defense that has led them to an NBA-best 15-2 start. After having a couple of games of slippage early on in their road trip, the Lakers closing out their trip by shutting the life out of the Pelicans offense would be the kind of thing to normalize a weird game Davis and also extend their NBA-best win-streak to nine games.

Anthony Davis on New Orleans return: ‘That’s game of the year for me’

Anthony Davis is excited, but he’s far from worried about his return to New Orleans with his new Los Angeles Lakers teammates.

Anthony Davis is living an NBA life that he never could have lived in New Orleans these days as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. Davis and the Lakers are 15-2 with one more game left on their four-game road trip, with the last one poetically finishing with Davis’ first game in New Orleans as a visiting player.

There are mixed reviews on how the crowd will receive Davis and Davis himself admits that he will have some nerves. In an interview a few weeks ago with Shams Charania of The Athletic/Stadium, Davis shared that the return to New Orleans had always been circled on his calendar.

The way things ended in New Orleans would be awkward for anyone, but Davis himself said that he wouldn’t take back what he did last year with his midseason trade request. Given how things have worked out for him in Los Angeles, anchoring a fearsome defense and a team with the NBA’s best-record should help smooth over some of the rough feelings involved with his first game as a visitor in the Big Easy.

LeBron James comes through with powerful dunk early vs. OKC

The Los Angeles Lakers star looked like he had plenty of energy to start their longest trip of they young season against the Thunder.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers found themselves in a little bit of an old west shootout early on against the first game of their four-game road trip against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night, but James did not lack the firepower early on.

James had eight points during his first quarter shift for the Lakers as the Thunder matched them basically bucket for bucket in the first quarter. But there was no bucket that set the tone for the Lakers in their first road game better than LeBron James and his thunderous slam dunk for which nobody on the Thunder wanted to be a part of.

In addition to the eight points, James had two assists while Anthony Davis led the team in assists with three assists to go with four points in the early going. The Lakers bench managed to make a small run at the end of the quarter to give them a 34-33 lead at halftime but make no mistake, the tone for their longest trip of the season was set by LeBron James, a trend of this young season for L.A.

Report: Anthony Davis expected to sit out Wednesday vs. Warriors

The Los Angeles Lakers star forward will miss the game due to a variety of injuries, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times.

If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to close out their back-to-back with a win on Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors, they’re likely going to do it without superstar forward Anthony Davis.

Davis, who was hit in the ribs during Tuesday night’s win at Phoenix and has been dealing with a sore right shoulder since the first week of the season, is expected to miss Wednesday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Turner also added that x-rays came back negative on Davis’ rib cage.

While the Warriors have proven that they can play competitive ball even with a depleted unit, the Lakers also recognize that it’s not the right time to have Davis play through the pain against a 2-9 team that plays minimal defense. It’s also a little bit easier for Davis to take a night to heal now that the Lakers have Kyle Kuzma back healthy.

Kuzma had 23 points in Tuesday’s win at Phoenix, including a couple of huge 3-pointers in the closing moments top seal the game and is a logical choice to slot in for Davis in the starting line-up later tonight against Golden State.