The successful acquisition of Anthony Davis has a good chance of changing the fate of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2019-20 NBA season. With Davis finally joining hands with LeBron James, there’s little doubt that the Lakers have successfully transformed themselves from a mediocre team to a legitimate title contender in the deep Western Conference. After all, Davis is currently one of the best active players in the league.
Aside from being a very reliable scoring option, Davis can facilitate the ball, rebound, protect the rim, and knock down shots from beyond the arc. However, in order to boost the Lakers’ chances of bringing home the Larry O’Brien Trophy to Los Angeles, “AD” would need to be healthy throughout the 2019-20 NBA season. Davis’ health has been a major concern in the past years — according to SBNation ‘s Silver Screen and Roll , the All-Star forward/center has played less than 70 games in five of his seven seasons in the NBA.
In an interview with Peter Flax of The Red Bulletin , Anthony Davis assured their fans that he will be entering the 2019-20 NBA season at full strength.
“I’m 100 percent healthy and I feel fine,” Davis said. “I feel very confident in myself.”
Aside from making himself comfortable with his new team and building chemistry with his teammates, Davis revealed that one of his main focuses in the 2019 NBA offseason is preparing his body for the most difficult moments in his first year wearing the purple and gold.
“I’ve watched how a lot of people get hurt during the seasons, and obviously that’s something we all dread, and so I’m training to find ways to prevent that,” Davis said. “I’m going into crazy positions.”
Let the work do the talking ? @AntDavis23 /// #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/QmV2nV0N8c
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) September 21, 2019
When he arrived in Los Angeles, Davis informed the Lakers about his desire to play at power forward to preserve his body during the regular season. The Lakers granted Davis’ request and signed JaVale McGee, DeMarcus Cousins (who has since gone down with a potentially season-ending ACL injury), and Dwight Howard to take most of the minutes at the center position. However, Davis is aware that he couldn’t avoid clashing with dominant big men in the NBA, so he decided to train his body to make sure he’s prepared in those type of situations.
“I’m trying to maximize my strength in these awkward positions,” Davis said. “That way, when I’m in those positions with a lot of load or someone is pushing me, my body and my ligaments and tendons can handle it.”
Anthony Davis will really need to stay healthy throughout the 2019-20 NBA season, especially now that LeBron James personally endorsed him to be the focal point of their offense. Maintaining an injury-free body would not only increase Davis’ chances of winning his first NBA championship, but it could also help him achieve his personal goal to win the Defensive Player of the Year award next season.