Domantas Sabonis’ 10-0 record against Anthony Davis stands out as one of the more unexpected facts in the NBA. But when he asked about the undefeated record, Sabonis refused to give it any credibility. Instead, he shut down the reporters and explained that he didn’t want to give the Lakers star any more fuel for revenge.
“I don’t pay attention to that,” said Sabonis, via Sean Cunningham. “The more you guys bring attention to that, it makes my life harder. If anything, it will light a fire under him, so stop mentioning anything, please.”
As one of the best bigs in basketball, Davis has the advantage over most opponents who cross his path. In the case of Sabonis, however, Davis has been unable to figure him out and he couldn’t help but concede Sabonis’ All-Star status after the 120-107 loss this week.
“Yeah, he’s a physical player. Just try to match his physicality, making him take a lot of tough shots,” said Davis (via Dave McMenamin) after the loss to the Kings. “He’s an All-Star, been an All-Star. He’s a good player.”
Sabonis narrowly missed the cut for All-Star this year, which marks his second season since joining the Kings that he failed to secure a top-12 spot. Even so, Davis is just one of many to recognize Sabonis as an All-Star and he’s been playing like it this season with averages of 20.1 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks per game on 61% shooting.
Sabonis and the Kings were able to get the win on Wednesday and they’ve been better than the Lakers all season, but even Sabonis knows that it’s not a good idea to get on Davis’ bad side. After being wiped out by the Warriors a year ago, the Kings need a break right now and Sabonis wants to avoid giving the Lakers any fuel to power a potential playoff run.
The NBA Is Still Scared Of The Los Angeles Lakers
This season has been far from impressive for the Lake Show, and they’ve struggled at just about every turn. With a 36-31 record, they currently sit at 9th in the Western Conference and are pretty much a lock to finish within the play-in range.
Even so, there isn’t a team in the league willing to count out the Lakers entirely. As we saw last season, they don’t need home-court advantage to win several playoff rounds and the mere presence of LeBron James and Anthony Davis gives them a chance against any team in the league.
The rise of D’Angelo Russell has given the Lakers another powerful weapon on offense. His resurgence with shooting the ball has really extended the court for everyone and his stats are up across the board since taking on a more prominent role in the rotation.
Perhaps the biggest X-factor for the Lakers is young guard Austin Reaves. His play last year helped the Lakers make their shocking Conference Finals run and they’ll need him again this year to have any chance of a repeat performance. So far, he seems up for the task with a scoring average of 16.0 points per game this season.
Ultimately, only time will tell what the Lakers are able to do this season but there is a sense that nobody in the West wants to see them at full strength in the playoffs — especially the Sacramento Kings, who are still looking to get out of the first round.
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