When the Lakers acquired Anthony Davis this offseason, most experts penciled the team in as a favorite for the NBA Finals.
Davis says he and his teammates are still striving to reach that goal, but they aren't feeling pressured:
“Do you feel pressure now — with LeBron (James), with all the teammates?” Davis was asked in a sit-down interview with NBA TV's Dennis Scott. “You guys are meshing so quick that you gotta get to the Finals.”
“Nah, not really. Because we know what we have to do,” Davis calmly replied. “Coach (Vogel) always makes sure we don't get too high or too low. We don't really down ourselves, like, ‘Man, we should've won that game by 30. We only won by six.' We're gonna take wins how they come. A win is a win, especially when we're on the road.
“We want to do as much as we can to stay on track and get there,” Davis added. “But we want to make sure that we stay in the moment, and make sure that no matter what we do as a team, the Finals is our goal.”
“No matter what we do as a team, the Finals is our goal.” 👀@AntDavis23 sits down with @3DTV to discuss expectations for the @Lakers before they face off with the @Bucks tonight at 8pm ET on TNT. pic.twitter.com/AYL5xWWeTB
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 19, 2019
The pairing of Davis and James has paid off in a big way for the Lakers, who are currently tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for the best record in the NBA at 24-4. Prior to Tuesday night's loss to the Pacers, Los Angeles had won 14 consecutive games on the road — a mark that goes down as the third-best in league history.
Davis, who says he isn't focusing on free agency at this time, is enjoying a great first season with the Lakers. In his 26 appearances with the team, the former No. 1 overall pick has racked up averages of 27.4 points on 49.9 percent shooting from the field (31.9 percent from beyond the arc), 9.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.6 blocks and 1.5 steals in 34.7 minutes per outing.
Whether or not the Lakers will indeed make it to the NBA Finals this season remains to be seen, but it's clear that they have their sights set on that target.
The Lakers and Bucks face off on Thursday in a potential Finals preview.
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