Anthony Davis was as candid as one can be in his post-game press interaction. Speaking after the Lakers' 110-134 blowout loss against the Cavaliers, Davis noted that the team regressed in their offensive performance, and lamented the way the team uncharacteristically gave the ball away. He did mention that it had nothing to do with them being a new team, but just a failure to play the right way.
"Not expected. We know what we're doing, even though we're a new team. We've shown in four games what we're capable of doing on the offensive end when we're organized, especially in the first three games."
"And then, even the game against Phoenix, the first game on this road trip, we had great spacing, we got great looks offensively. This is the first game where we regressed, and we were god-awful offensively because of our spacing. Nothing about us being a new team... We just didn't do it tonight."
It was a poor outing from the Lakers, who struggled to keep up with Kenny Atkinson's new-look Cavaliers. The Lakers had a shambolic 20 turnovers against the Cavs, with 16 of those turnovers coming from the starting five of D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis. In fact, James and Davis combined for half the turnovers of the team, with six and four turnovers each respectively.
Davis, despite the turnovers, put up a double-double with 22 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, and two steals. He shot well from the field, going 9-17, but couldn't convert his only attempt from three, as he went 0-1. AD also had an uncharacteristically poor night from the stripe, going 4-8 from the free-throw line.
LeBron James scored 26 points in last night's loss, along with six rebounds and three assists. Lakers head coach JJ Redick was not happy about the loss, lambasting his team in his post-game comments.
Anthony Davis was also asked about his injury status after the game, as he looked like he had suffered a knock during the first quarter. He noted that while the hip injury was a little sore, he does think he can play through it, and should be ready for the Lakers' next game on the road against the Toronto Raptors.
"Yeah, tweaked my hip in the first quarter... A little sore. Kind of jammed it. But I'll be fine, it was just bothering me throughout the course of the game. It isn't going to stop me from playing."
Davis, despite the loss yesterday, has started the season off strong. In his first four games, Davis is averaging 30.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.6 steals, and 2.0 blocks per game. If he can keep this form up, he will definitely be in contention for the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards at the end of the season.
The Lakers will need Davis to play at the highest level on a nightly basis, as he is one of their best players, and can change the outcome of a game with his presence on the court.
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