Anthony Davis made his preseason debut on Sunday night against the Phoenix Suns. Davis missed the first LA Lakers preseason game due to extra rest since he represented Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics. He is also coming off the healthiest season of his career, missing just six games in total.
Davis only played in the first half since it’s just the preseason, finishing with 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes of action. He went 7-for-10 from the field and made one 3-point shot. He looked really good for the Lakers and doing it all for them.
However, the Lakers bench couldn’t hold it together in the second half as Phoenix came back from a double-digit lead to get the 118-114 win. LeBron James had a game-high 19 points, all in the first half. The Suns’ starters didn’t play many minutes, with Josh Okogie leading the way with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field.
Here are AD’s stats for the game:
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How did Anthony Davis fare in his preseason debut?
How did Anthony Davis fare in his preseason debut? (Photo: IMAGN)
LA Lakers coach JJ Redick emphasized making Anthony Davis the focal point of his offense and wanted to “empower” him ahead of the season. AD was aggressive early in the first quarter, finishing an alley-oop dunk and hitting a shot from three.
Davis had seven points, six rebounds and three assists, going 3-for-5 from the field, including 1-for-2 from beyond the arc. It was a good start to the game for the 10-time All-Star who is coming off a stint with Team USA and played a vital role off the bench.
In the second quarter, Davis re-entered around the seven-minute mark and immediately made a midrange jumper. He had 10 points and two rebounds in the period. The Lakers finished the first half with a 69-57 advantage over the Suns.
Since it’s the preseason, Anthony Davis sat for the entire second half since the LA Lakers don’t want to overwork their starters ahead of the regular season. Davis had a short offseason due to playing for Team USA, which was worth it since they won the Olympic gold.
JJ Redick experimented with his lineup around Anthony Davis
One of the main talking points of the season was Anthony Davis’ preference to play power forward rather than center. Nevertheless, LA Lakers coach JJ Redick announced that his starting lineup will be D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James and Davis.
Nevertheless, Redick seems to have listened to Davis’ plea to play power forward and experiment with his lineup in the first quarter against the Phoenix Suns. Davis played with Jaxson Hayes at center though it didn’t have any significant impact.
The Lakers then played a really big lineup with James at small forward but will likely need more time together in an actual game before seeing results.