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When Anthony Davis jumped on his first Zoom call with reporters since the season shut down, he was clearly in high spirits. From joking that he “got so fat” from eating nothing but burgers to telling the media “I didn’t miss you guys at all” (OK, so maybe that second one wasn’t a joke), it was obvious that he’s feeling good heading into the NBA restart.
The reason for that? For one thing, he feels physically better, and he thinks that if anything, the Lakers’ title odds have improved since the NBA shut down.
“I think our chances are the same,” Davis said, before correcting himself. “Actually I think our chances are higher because we’re all rested and ready to go.”
While Davis toweled himself off after his second day back in the practice facility for individual workouts, he told reporters that the last three months have been “crazy” and gave him a lot of downtime to chill (“I got really good at Call of Duty,” he says). He also admitted that the time off allowed him to heal the shoulder injury that had been nagging him for most of the season.
LeBron and AD were back in the lab today. The Lakers sent us some footage: pic.twitter.com/BZJ3738l1h
— Silver Screen & Roll (@LakersSBN) July 2, 2020
Davis confirmed he didn’t have a procedure on the shoulder and that it just needed time to heal. Now that it has, he says he’s “ready to go” heading into Orlando.
“It’s been good,” Davis said of the time off. “Kind of given me a chance to let my body recover... I feel 100% healthy.”
That’s great news for the Lakers, as Davis had been listed on the injury report frequently this season, even if he normally played anyway. Now he’s ready to go — he says he never considered sitting out of the tournament because of how excited he is for his first chance at a championship — and he thinks the formula for the Lakers and other teams heading to Disney World is simple.
“It’s about what team wants it more and what team can stay healthy,” Davis said.
If the Lakers can do that, they’ll have as good of a chance as anyone.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.