Charles Barkley on how crucial it is for Anthony Davis to sustain killer mentality: "There's nothing they can do!'"
Anthony Davis has made the LA Lakers look like legitimate playoff contenders with his blistering form in the past 10 games. He led the team to an 8-2 mark before sitting out another game due to flu-like symptoms.
During that stretch, AD displayed the same kind of performance that pushed the Lakers to mortgage their future for the former New Orleans Pelicans superstar. With Davis back to his most deadly best, retired Houston Rockets player Charles Barkley had this to say:
“When you’re a great player, you’re moving fast and everybody else is slow and there’s nothing they can do about it. But you have to have the mentality like, ‘There’s nothing they can do!’
"He had that mentality in New Orleans and for some reason, when he went to the Lakers after they won, it seemed like, I don’t know!”
(4:14 mark)
During his Pelicans years and first season with the LA Lakers, Anthony Davis was consistently and easily one of the NBA’s best. Barkley even claimed that Davis would be the top player in the league in the next six to seven years.
What the Hall of Famer predicted didn’t come true for some reason. After the Lakers won the 2020 championship, Davis declared that he had nothing more to prove. He stopped being the player that had a chip on his shoulder.
Injuries certainly had something to do with his decline in performance over the previous two years. But he has also started the season out of shape and is seemingly disinterested. Kevin Garnett even called out AD for failing to meet expectations.
After last season’s debacle and after a 2-10 start, Anthony Davis’ fire has been relit in a big way. Before the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he averaged 34.2 points, 15.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.9 blocks. Davis shot 63.3% from the field, including 41.7% from deep.
Anthony Davis went off for 55 and is the first Laker with back-to-back 40-point games since Kobe Bryant!
55 PTS, 17 REB, 3 BLK (73% FG)
44 PTS, 10 REB, 3 BLK (67% FG) https://t.co/7Bdw51rkIS
AD’s recent string of performances has now made him Batman to the LA Lakers’ success, while LeBron James has become Robin. Darvin Ham now has his formula. The head coach will just have to hope Davis sustains his ultra-aggressiveness and willingness to be the Lakers’ franchise player.
Anthony Davis will have to stay healthy
Like in the past, health seemed to get in the way of Anthony Davis’ greatness yet again. The NBA was waiting for an encore following his jaw-dropping 55-point performance against the Washington Wizards last Sunday.
He's that guy.
@antdavis23: 55 pts, 17 reb, 3 blk https://t.co/PVloKwVFiD
Instead, flu-like symptoms forced him to play only minutes versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. He then missed the next game when the Lakers took on the Toronto Raptors. After improving their record to 10-12, they have lost two straight games to drop to 10-14.
There should be no reason why Davis will not recover from the flu, particularly since it’s non-Covid related. The reason for concern will be AD’s back, as he has been a staple on the Lakers’ injury report due to lower back tightness.
Anthony Davis has been super aggressive for nearly the whole month, which could cause his back to flare up. AD might be able to sustain the mentality Charles Barkley has complimented him for, but his body will also have to hold up.