Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers have done nothing but win in recent weeks as they added another one under their belts after defeating the Washington Wizards.
The win marked their 17th of the 2019-20 NBA season and reinforced their place atop the NBA standings, an impressive feat when one considers this roster is still learning to play with each other.
Davis was great in the win as he finished with a double-double of 26 points and 13 rebounds to go along with three blocks. He has started to settle in with his new team as he has looked more comfortable on the offensive end while still dominating on the defensive end.
When asked after the game if he would have been surprised if he was told the Lakers would be playing this well so soon, Davis was candid with his answer.
“I wouldn’t have been surprised. We know the type of team that we have and when we defend we’re able to beat anybody. And we have a lot of veterans so when we’re down, we’re able to fight back and have the confidence in our schemes,” Davis said.
“And it is exciting to be on a roll like this. Coach talked about it today about the way we played in New Orleans. Our defense was kind of bad and we don’t need a loss to redeem ourselves or a loss to try to pick it back up. Let’s do it with a win and we did that tonight.”
Despite a relatively soft start to their schedule, the Lakers have already had to scrap for some ugly wins, but it goes to show how resilient and disciplined they already are. Davis has continually harped on Los Angeles defense as the key to their success and he has backed that up with his play on that end.
Davis also brought up a good point about the roster construction as having more veterans typically means they are able to understand the ebbs and flows of a game better than a younger player and stay poised in tight situations. That was the case in all the team’s comeback wins as it required full team efforts to fight back into those matchups.
Even with a 17-2 record, the purple and gold have plenty of things to prove as they prepare for stiffer competition.
With how Davis and the rest of the team are playing, they should be well-equipped to handle anyone that comes their way.