Injury remains greatest threat to Anthony Davis' standing
The words are enough to send a chill down the spines of everyone in the New Orleans organization. Anthony Davis. Injured. Again. No, Davis’ sprained ankle, twisted during a preseason game in China on Wednesday and expected to cost him two weeks of action, isn’t serious. But through four NBA seasons, Davis has been known for two things: the skills to develop into one of the league’s biggest stars and a body that has refused to allow him to consistently do it.
Stress fracture, balky knees, a torn labrum in his shoulder, Davis’ body has been through the ringer. He has never played more than 68 games in a season, and last year he played a career-low 61. When he’s on the floor, Davis is nearly unstoppable, a 6-foot-10 defensive menace, a post player with guard skills. Last season he layered his game with a three-point shot, jacking up nearly two per game and connecting at a respectable 32.4 percent.
So much is expected of Davis this season because last season was a mess for New Orleans. Head coach Alvin Gentry arrived with great fanfare, an up-tempo coach who could harness the talent of a team of young athletes and mold a burgeoning eight seed into a true Western Conference contender. Injuries sabotaged the Pelicans season early, but even when healthy New Orleans never looked quite right.
This season has a comparable vibe, with the Pelicans again assembling a disjointed roster with immobile bigs, questionable shooting swingmen and a gaping hole at point guard until Jrue Holiday – on indefinite leave tending to a family situation – can return.
Yet the Pelicans have Davis, a 24-point, 10-rebound, two-plus block-per-game player in the last two seasons, the overwhelming choice by NBA general managers in a recent poll asking which player with which they would start a team. He’s the equalizer, a strap-a-team-to-his-back superstar capable of elevating any team – a message Gentry impressed on him at the end of last season.
“The big thing [we told him] was in order for us to be great was for you to be great,” Gentry told The Vertical Podcast. “Work on post-ups, work on getting stronger. He did that. We wanted him to continue to step out and increase his range. He has to be great defensively, not just blocking shots, but great defensively. He has really spent time working on some defensive concepts. [Before] he left his feet quite a bit. We tried to get him to the point where he was always the second jumper in challenging shots.”
To stay healthy, the suggestion was simple: Continue to bulk up. Davis has been progressively adding muscle the last few years, coming to camp at, he says, a career-high 250 pounds, weight gained in areas specifically targeted to help him prevent injuries.
“Now, if I get hit in the shoulder, it was nothing,” Davis said last month. “It’s not harmful to my body. Where, before when I would get hit, I got aches and pains, and everything like that.”
Added Gentry: “He’s done a good job changing his body. He’s added some muscle mass. He’s able to hold his post position a little better. He’s gained the muscle mass without losing any quickness.”
So much is at stake this season in New Orleans, for Gentry, for the supporting cast, for Davis, too. He’s a Pelican for a while, having signed a contract last summer that will tie him to New Orleans for at least the next four seasons. Now is the time for Davis to elevate Holiday, to mentor sixth overall selection Buddy Hield, to dominate whatever frontcourt position Gentry elects to put him in. Low 30s was a solid start for a new three-point shooter, but Gentry believes a number close to 40 is now within reach. Indeed, injuries are the only obstacle between Davis and true greatness. Somehow, some way, he has to find a way to avoid them.
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