NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: LAKERS VS. NUGGETS

September 17, 2020

Anthony Davis

Los Angeles Lakers

Practice Day

Q. Anthony, you guys have been breaking down the Nuggets for a couple days. I'm sure you watched their matchup with the Clippers. What stands out to you about them compared to the regular season?

ANTHONY DAVIS: They're playing with a lot of confidence the right now. Jokic and Murray are their two guys who lead them, scoring in a variety of ways. I think they’re number one in pick-and-roll usage. Those two guys are leading the way for them.

Obviously, to do what they've done in this Playoffs, coming back from 3-1 in both their series, is phenomenal. Something we've never seen before. They have a lot of confidence right now.

It's going to be a tough matchup for us. They always played us pretty tough in the regular season. The way they're playing right now, they’re going to pose a bigger threat. We've been preparing for them, just trying to find a best way to limit those two guys.

Q. How do you think this Playoff run has been benefited by being together so much, being in the bubble, versus playing home games and road games?

ANTHONY DAVIS: I think it's been beneficial for us, spending a lot of time with your teammates and the coaching staff. You're able to get extra work in, talk with the guys a lot more, watch a lot more film with each other. Probably you wouldn't do that when you’re at your home with your families.

I think it will be beneficial for us. We've been together for two and a half months, something like that. Guys have been great around each other. We do a lot of things together as a team. We've also done a lot of things on the court that we probably wouldn't have if we wasn't here.

Q. You and Jokic are two guys that define what it is to be a big man in this league. How do you view that matchup specifically when you are matched up with each other? In the regular season, you had a lot more success with them when you were over at the five. Why might that be, in your mind?

ANTHONY DAVIS: I don't think of it as anything. He's a talented player, one of the best bigs in this league. I don't go in with that mindset. It's Lakers versus Nuggets. Why we had success while I was at the five, I'm not sure. I mean, honestly we're smaller, a lot faster. I just take pride in my defense and guarding him.

Like I say, he's a tough guy to guard, especially being able to shoot the ball, he can pass extremely well. He can shoot. He can go in the post. A lot of ways he can beat you.

For me, those are always fun matchups for me because it makes me play defense, makes me compare where I am defensively against a great offensive player. But it's always been fun for me playing against him. I get to do it for an entire series.

Q. This is your third team with a very different style. When you guys are switching from the Rockets playing smaller and being an isolation to a team like this one where the big is a shooting and passing threat, how much does that give you whiplash as you prepare? How much of an adjustment is that mentally for you?

ANTHONY DAVIS: It's not. We've been doing a great job of being able to adjust each series. Portland was different from Houston, Houston is different from Denver. Coach has been excellent at breaking down film and giving us the things and the tools that we need to be successful.

We've been great at adjusting and making sure we're prepared for each opponent. I'm sure it's going to be pretty much the same here. They've given us a lot of breakdowns on their personnel, their team, to put us in the best situation to win.

But we're able to adjust to any style of play, whether it's small like Houston or big like Denver. We'll be ready.

Q. Nikola doesn't have a traditional sort of NBA body. How does he use that to his advantage, his size, the pace at which he moves? Seems like it's very unusual.

ANTHONY DAVIS: Yeah, he's very slow with his game. He plays with his own pace. Everybody talks about pace. He got his own pace. He's never sped up. He is never rushed. He plays at his own pace and it works for him. He's been very successful at that. It works for the team.

When you play that type of player, you're able to see a lot on both ends of the floor. As I say, it's been working for him. It's going to be a challenge for us.

Q. I know Nuggets are front and center now. Assuming you were watching Game 7 live, you guys as stars are going to have a different view. As you’re watching that fourth quarter, Kawhi and Paul struggling like that, were you shocked for them? Any letdown for you guys? Seems like all years long Clippers-Lakers were something people were gearing up for.

ANTHONY DAVIS: No letdown for us. We focus on our own team. We aren't focused on any other team but the Lakers. That's kind of been us, our whole thing the entire season. We focused on our own team.

It was a fun game to watch. Honestly in Game 7s anything can happen. Just kind of been big around the league, especially with that team who has been down 3-1 before. Them being down 3-1 in their series, you know it's going to be a good game.

Our focus isn't on the Clippers or the battle of L.A. It's more so what can we do to finish our season strong.

Q. You mentioned earlier that it's really fun for you to play against Jokic. Can you expand on that?

ANTHONY DAVIS: Like I say, he's a great offensive player. It challenges me on defense when I'm guarding him to see where my defense stands against his offense. He's one of the better post players in this league, better offensive players in this league. He can score from all over the floor.

Any time I match up against him, it's always a battle. It's fun for me to test where I am defensively, especially against a guy like that.

Q. Frank yesterday was praising you and LeBron, not just for your talent but for really setting the tone in practice, film sessions and games, having the sense of urgency. How have you tried to approach that overall throughout the season?

ANTHONY DAVIS: Just being the leaders of the team. Being the ones to speak up in film sessions. Being the ones on the court, practice, leading, playing with a great pace, in practice playing with a lot of energy, get the team going. These guys follow us on the court. So it's our jobs to make sure we're the ones leading.

Having a guy like LeBron who has been in the situation many, many times, especially now, I kind of lean on him a lot, especially in these Playoffs. I haven't been here before. Lean on him a lot to try to follow his lead also while still trying to lead the rest of the guys.

It's been fun, challenging, just being here and not having a typical Playoffs. It's been fun for us. We're moving the rights direction. We got a tough opponent ahead of us tomorrow night. It's going to be a great series.

Q. All-NBA First Team is one of those things that as a player's career goes on, it's a big deal, right, being one of the top five guys? Is that spot specifically something you think about, something that's meaningful in any particular way?

ANTHONY DAVIS: It's always an honor to be on an All-NBA team. Even more a First Team. That's always an honor.

But we know what the bigger goal is, especially for me. It's to win a championship. Any time I can get other awards along the way, definitely honored. Not so many people can say they've been First Team, let alone All-NBA team. I've been able to do that several times. It's been an honor for me.

Then I can't lose track and get excited about that and not remember what the ultimate goal is. I think having a championship trumps everything, every other award. That's kind of been my mindset.