Pelicans star a ‘beast’ for opponents

TORONTO • Anthony Davis is one of the most talented players to come around in years, but Canadian basketball fans have had precious few opportunities to see him up close.

Until Tuesday’s appearance at the Air Canada Centre, the superstar big man had not played a contest in Toronto for New Orleans in three years.

Davis has only been healthy enough to face the Raptors three times, missing the previous five meetings between the clubs overall (though he did score 24 points on 12-of-13 shooting at last year’s all-star game in Toronto), robbing fans a chance to see one of the modern greats in action.

Davis entered Tuesday averaging 28 points (fifth in the NBA), 12.2 rebounds (sixth) and 2.34 blocks (second).

In a 2015 survey, NBA executives overwhelmingly voted him the player they would pick to start a franchise with. Only his tendency to get hurt often dropped him down the list in 2016. When Davis plays, he is a monumental force. He helped Kentucky win the NCAA title several years ago and earned most outstanding player honours, despite barely contributing on the offensive end in the championship game. Such was his all-around dominance.

“I see him as being a Hall of Famer, all-star every single year of his career, eventually winning a ring,” Raptors forward Patrick Patterson said at shootaround on Tuesday.

“He’s a phenomenal player ... His character is great. I’ve always been a huge fan of him. I’ve always had the utmost respect for him. Not just because of Kentucky — of course we have that brotherhood because of (Patterson playing there too, before Davis arrived) — but just because of what I’ve seen on and off the court. He’s a beast out there. He’s definitely deserving of everything that he gets.”

Davis has been oddly ineffective (by his lofty standards) in Toronto when he has been in the lineup. His first appearance as a rookie was one of his worst that season. Davis scored only two points, took just six shots, adding six rebounds and two blocks in a loss. New Orleans had never beaten Toronto with Davis before Tuesday’s game.

The next year, he scored 19 points, had seven rebounds, but did not block a shot, which doesn’t happen very often.

Raptors head coach Dwane Casey (yet another Kentucky alumnus) has seen considerable growth in Davis’ game since then.

“He’s a great player in our league,” Casey said, before trying to rattle off how to defend him, something few teams have really figured out.

“We’ve got to make sure there are multiple people guarding him, from small to big. Make sure, again, we get to him on his pop-backs, on his (isolations) ... When he jab-steps. He can’t roll freely down the lane,” Casey said.

“We’ve got to make sure we have the lane packed, bodies in the lane, and not let him see an alley where he can get on his runway and go for dunks. That’s the main thing.”