Not only does Kendrick Perkins think that Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers are going to make the playoffs, but he believes they have the team and the identity to go on a deep run in 2023.

When asked if the Lakers could be a factor down the stretch and into the postseason, the former NBA star didn't hold back.

“H**l yeah they can, and shoutout to Rob Pelinka for what he did at the trade deadline, but when you look at this team, they are talented,” Perkins remarked.

“They have athleticism, they have shooting, they have everything and more, they have an identity on the defensive end, but they also have Anthony Marshawn Davis Jr. And when I look at this boy, and I look at the position that he's in right now, I said this last week, Anthony Davis has an opportunity to change the narrative about himself in the next couple of weeks.”

When asked for his thoughts on the way AD has played lately after the team's 112-103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night, coach Darvin Ham took inspiration from the rafters.

“Wilt?” Ham joked, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Full-blow Wilt Davis. He’s playing like a monster.”

And Kendrick Perkins agrees.

“Forget being a top-five talent, he actually has a chance to finish this regular season strong going into the postseason, to put his name back in the conversation with Giannis and Jokic and Joel Embiid as a bonus to show that he is the number one option on the team that they can go to, he is a franchise guy.”

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Davis was electric on Tuesday, leading the team with 30 points and 22 rebounds as the Lakers moved into ninth place in the Western Conference. It was a true superstar performance, as he made multiple big plays down the stretch while wearing a bandage on his nose from a first-half cut.

Anthony Davis said afterwards that the Lakers are confident, and when they play basketball like that, “it leads to victories.”

“The Lakers, they're going to get into the postseason,” Perkins asserted, “and they're going to be h**l for anybody that has to see this team first round.”