The Los Angeles Lakers are only a few weeks away from getting things started in the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida.
The Lakers' first scrimmage, one of three, will take on July 23 against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. Once those games are in the books, Los Angeles will face the division-rival L.A. Clippers on July 30, which will be a highly anticipated game with many anxious to see what LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be bringing to the table after a long hiatus.
Last week, Jared Dudley spoke to the L.A. media on a Zoom call and talked about Davis needing to be aggressive with the Lakers bound for the playoffs after their three scrimmages and eight seeding game.
“AD definitely has another gear,” Dudley said of Davis. “I think AD for the first time in his career since maybe Kentucky where any given night he doesn't have to be the main scorer. I think he's so efficient and so unselfish that sometimes he tends to be too passive. We need him to be more aggressive.
“We're going to need him to be physical. We're going to need him to be dominant. Defensively, I don't have any worry. Offensively, it's not a worry. I just want him to be aggressive.”
Once the Lakers acquired Davis last summer, the team was off and running with general manager Rob Pelinka surrounding superstar newcomer and LeBron James with veteran players with championship and playoff experience.
LeBron and Davis quickly become one of the best duos in the NBA and now will try to return to where they left off as the top team in the Western Conference and perhaps the team to beat in Orlando. Dudley believes Davis' contribution in the bubble will be extremely important.
“AD is going to be the most critical part of us on our quest for a championship in the bubble,” Dudley said of Davis.
It'll be interesting to see whether Davis has been able to stay in shape and prepared for what's in store in the coming weeks. There's no doubt he will be critical to the team's success as anything less than an NBA Finals appearance or even a championship would be considered a failure for this Lakers squad.
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