Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis had his best game since returning from injury on Monday in their win over the Denver Nuggets. With LeBron James and Dennis Schroder out, head coach Frank Vogel put his trust in Davis, who has now played at least 33 minutes in each of the last three games.
Davis responded by scoring 25 points, grabbing seven rebounds and blocking three shots. He and Marc Gasol were a dominant tandem in the minutes they shared the floor together, and it was clear that a rapport was being rebuilt between Davis and his teammates.
Someone who noticed that was Vogel, who feels Davis is getting closer to his usual self with each game, especially on the defensive end. “I think he’s getting more and more each game in rhythm and getting his legs under him. This was the first game since he’s been back that he’s been really, really decisive, especially early in the game.
“I thought he set a great tone for us knowing that Dennis [Schroder] and Bron were going to be out that he was going to be in attack mode and I thought he set a great tone for us. Obviously, when Anthony is at his best, he’s impacting the game on both sides of the ball and that’s what he did tonight.”
Davis will hopefully continue this level of improvement for the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs. For the next seven games, L.A. will desperately need Davis to be at or close to his best, with avoiding the play-in tournament being the top priority.
They will also continue to be without Schroder, who is out at least 10-14 days total in the NBA’s health and safety protocols. In addition, James is out for at least the next two games due to a sore right ankle.
Davis needs to do everything he can over the next seven games to get back to 100%, as the next time the Lakers play a game with their roster fully healthy, it could possibly be in the playoffs.
Davis not thinking about Achilles while on the court
After a two month absence, Davis feels like he is at the point where he no longer thinks about his injury while playing. “There’s not one time I’ve thought about it since I’ve been back playing.
“I think I’ve done enough in the past nine weeks to strengthen it where I don’t have to think about it so now I just go out there and focus on the game of basketball and helping the team win.”
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