LOS ANGELES – When the NBA season was halted on March 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic, a bucket of cold water soaked through the Los Angeles Lakers’ streak (they were 8-2 since the All-Star break) and Anthony Davis’ birthday candles (turned 27 that day).
At the time, Davis considered his team, with the No. 1 record in the West, a championship contender. He envisioned his first season in Los Angeles alongside LeBron James, possibly peaking with him holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June.
And how do you see those championship chances now that you’ve started formal one-on-one practice at the Lakers’ practice facility before flying to Orlando, Florida, next week for the NBA restart?
“Actually, I think our chances are higher just because we all rest and are ready to go,” Davis said Thursday in a video conference call with journalists. “In any case, our chances increased and it will be about who wants it the most.”
Free time has benefited Davis, he said. After missing eight games in the regular season due to shoulder, elbow, and coccyx injuries, his body has had enough time to heal.
“It has been good for me to let some of them suffer persistent injuries that I had when the NBA stopped to recover and heal and go back to the best version of myself,” he said. “I feel 100 percent healthy. Well, I don’t feel, I’m [100 percent healthy]. I feel like I’m ready. Ready to go.”
Not that any of the wear and tear seemed to delay Davis before the break. He was averaging 26.7 points on 51.1% shooting, 9.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.4 blocks and 1.5 steals while shooting the best 84.5% of his career from the free throw line. He anchored the Lakers defense, which ranked third in the league in terms of efficiency, allowing 105.5 points for every 100 possessions, and was promoted by the team’s teammates and coaching staff as the top candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel said that part of Davis’ game that impressed him the most this season was his “mentality to play with minor injuries.” It stands to reason that if you take that same mindset and apply it with a healthier body, its impact could be even more noticeable.
“[When] you’re on the court, you have the opportunity to grow, and your team has the opportunity to grow, “Vogel said in a video conference call Thursday.” When we get to Orlando, it will be the next step in that process and his journey this season as a Laker. We hope to see it, hopefully the best is yet to come. “
Davis, James and Alex Caruso took to the court Wednesday at the start of the team’s “pre-training field” before Orlando. Davis and Rajon Rondo returned to the gym on Thursday, sources told ESPN.
Rondo will be one of the Lakers’ backup guards to make up for the absence of Avery Bradley, who chose to leave Orlando for family reasons and to continue to focus his efforts on fighting systemic racism in this country.
Davis said he considers Bradley a “key piece” that the team will miss, but added that he never considered withdrawing from the end of the season, despite sharing Bradley’s concerns, because he believes the NBA can address them as a united front. from Florida.
“I think we are stronger together,” Davis said. “Everyone in Orlando, obviously, we are going to be talking about everything that is happening from a point of view of social injustice. And I think an NBA platform, where I think at that time, we will be the only ones on TV.
“So I think we can have more people in the room from other teams and get other ideas and discover how we can change the world. What we can do individually and what we can do as a unit to make the change, and I think the more The more people we have, the more minds we have, the more ideas and thoughts we can think to change the world and change what is happening. “
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