Anthony Davis is coming up big for Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs
Facial features. Everyone has them. Right above the eyes of Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis was a trademark more popular than his blocked shots at Kentucky. “The Unibrow.”
At the time, he was just an 18-year-old freshman who won the 2012 NCAA National Championship. A Naismith National Player of the Year recipient. But it wasn’t the accolades that made Anthony Davis the beast he is now.
It was his conscientious effort to become the quintessential go-to player instead of a role player with limitations. John Calipari knew then what type of player Davis would be. Multiple blocked shots, dunks, and a place in Kentucky Wildcat basketball history. But the “eyebrow” never had limitations.
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There are no limitations for Anthony Davis or the Los Angeles Lakers in this year’s 2020 NBA Playoffs. His statistical dominance deserves a vainglorious statement. Numerous statements to be exact. But how often is it that you see a 6- foot-11 multifaceted player who can score in multiple ways? The scoring surge for Davis started in August during the series against Portland.
The Lakers lost a heartbreaker in Game 1, 100-93, where Davis had 28 points. Two days later, Davis brought havoc to the Trail Blazers with a 31-point and 11-rebound effort which persisted to a 4-1 series win. Davis had a tempestuous 43-point outing in the last game of the series.
That 43-point outing and scoring surge has ascended to the Western Conference Semifinals. LeBron James is deemed the ring leader, but in a clearer sense, AD is right there. All season long it’s been the narrative of Davis and James being a two-headed monster for the Laker offense.
Despite losing Game 1 against the Houston Rockets 112-97, AD and LeBron have reassembled the relationship they developed initially in the regular season. Davis showed his effortless ability to score at the perimeter and inside. After a Game 2 win, and a 34-point and 10 rebound specialty, Davis has shot 65.5 percent from the field in the last two games.
The mere fact that Davis can score in different ways, gives the Lakers’ a breath of fresh air for a championship season. The question now, excluding LeBron; will Davis be the key factor for an NBA championship this season?
Obviously, it’s apparent now who Anthony Davis is. He’s not a big guy with sloppy feet or inadequate IQ on the floor. The tools Davis possesses appears to be a gem for LeBron. Taking pressure off the best player is the main goal, but AD’s scoring surge equates to the formula he and LeBron constructed during the preseason.
That formula could promulgate a championship campaign for the Lakers’ this 2019-20 NBA season. Could it happen in the bubble? Perhaps a better question. Is this the year for AD and LeBron to win a championship as a two-headed monster? Most answers right now may be indecisive.
But in a series where the Houston Rockets match the Lakers’ intensity, it could be a boxing match between the two teams. Not like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier on pay-per-view, but a match for the top prize.
Although Davis doesn’t have the unibrow currently, it’ll never outweigh any other feature. The unibrow has been his trademark since day one. That trademark is still strong. But AD wants more than the unibrow. He wants the golden trophy.