DAVIS SWEARS LA REMAINS DRIVEN
Lakers meet Clippers in preseason opener
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Anthony Davis vows the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers will be ready for the grind of another campaign despite a short turnaround between their preseason opener and capturing the crown.
After finishing off Miami in the NBA Finals on 11 October after a COVID-19 pandemic-extended season, the Lakers face the Los Angeles Clippers next Friday to launch the pre-season, with about six weeks less rest than usual.
“It’s hard in a quick turnaround to play at a high level to compete for a title again but I think we have the players and staff to do so,” Davis said Friday in an internet news conference.
“As a champion, you’re going to get everyone’s best shot. You have a target on your back. You’re going to find that motivation.
“We have a bunch of new guys who want to win a championship. I think we’ll be fine in that sense.”
The 27-year-old power forward signed a five-year deal worth $190 million to remain with the Lakers, who also inked superstar LeBron James — who turns 36 on 30 December — to a two-year extension worth $85 million that keeps him in LA through the 2022-2023 campaign.
“I was excited for him. It’s a hell of a deal,” Davis said. “To be getting that type of money going into your 18th year (in the NBA), it just doesn’t happen.
“I’m happy to be playing along with him for three years and I’m not sure he’s going to be done after that.”
We have a bunch of new guys who want to win a championship. I think we’ll be fine in that sense.
Davis, a member of the 2012 US Olympic team, has been nagged by ankle, shoulder and knee injuries over eight NBA campaigns, seven with New Orleans before joining the Lakers last year, so he and James might see limited early action.
“We’re going to talk with the trainers and the coaching staff and see what the best way is to approach it,” Davis said.
“It is a quick turnaround. We have to make sure our bodies are ready so we’re able to repeat. We have to get our rest but at the same time be ready to go out there and compete.”
While Lakers forward Jared Dudley declares, “I’m expecting AD to go for the Most Valuable Player (MVP)” this season, Davis is more concerned with staying healthy than any awards like MVP and Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY).
“It’s hard for me to set goals — MVP, DPOY. I just kind of let that happen,” Davis said. “My goal is to be on the floor as much as possible and not get injured. It’s more like that and doing what I can to help the team win.”
Davis did plenty of that last season, averaging 26.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.3 blocked shots and 1.5 steals a game for the Lakers while shooting 50.3 percent from the floor and 33 percent from 3-point range.
He raised his scoring, rebounding and assist averages during the Lakers’ triumphant playoff run in the Orlando playoff bubble, but the upcoming season will be played at home arenas and the greater risk of COVID-19 that brings even without spectators.