The story of what happened to Anthony Davis in his debut for the Dallas Mavericks is all too familiar for Los Angeles Lakers fans. The newest Mavericks superstar went out there and dominated the first half against the Houston Rockets. Davis posted 24 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocks by halftime. However, his night was cut short.
Davis finished the game with 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks before exiting with a groin injury. As pointed out above, it was a non-contact injury too. The Mavericks had to wait for their new big man to return from injury for a highly-anticipated debut and it appears Davis may be back in street clothes for a period of time that is currently unclear.
For the Mavericks, they will hope the injury is not serious and their new superstar can return to the lineup as quickly as possible. However, living with that uncertainty has always been a challenge and one that the Lakers do not have to face any longer.
The issue of building a team around Davis
Full disclosure and a breaking of the fourth wall here, this was originally planned to be an article about how Davis dominated in his first game as a Maverick. However, that quickly changed as the former NBA champion failed to finish his full debut in Dallas. A sobering reality hit at that moment: that is the struggle of featuring Davis as a focal point of any franchise.
There is no doubt that the nine-time All-Star is a tremendous talent. Davis will be looked back on as one of the top players of his generation. It is also true that the 2023-24 NBA season was his healthiest in a considerable amount of time. That kind of reliability is unfortunately the exception to the norm.
The Lakers were fortunate to reap the rewards of a full playoff run from Davis during the 2020 championship run. The five-time All-NBA selection proved to be a dominant force and Lakers fans will always be thankful for that.
That being said, managing to pivot him into Luka Doncic was easily a decision that no one will question for the foreseeable future. The irony of that statement would be the fact that Doncic is also working his way back from an injury. However, every other year of Luka's career featured him playing at least 61 regular-season games.
Perhaps confirmation bias has a touch to do with this situation. Even if that is the case, it does not change the overall sentiment.
