Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond hopeful about partnership following first game together

Anthony Davis and Andre Drummond played their first game together as Lakers teammates on Thursday, and while their team didn’t win, they were encouraged by what they were able to accomplish in the limited time they were on the floor together.

“Our defense was really good to start the game,” Davis said. “We were really talking, flying around and guys was covering for each other. That’s the good thing with having another defensive player out there in Drum.

“And then offensively, we’ll just figure it out. It’s something that comes with time. We had one practice together and now 16 minutes to play with each other. That’s going to come with time.”

The numbers told a drastically different story, but that was to be expected. Prior to Thursday night’s game, Davis hadn’t played an NBA basketball game in over two months, and it had been even longer since he played a game alongside Drummond — much, much longer.

“To be on the same court as him as a teammate was a surreal moment for me,” Drummond said. “It felt like we were kids again playing in USA Basketball. It’s going to be crazy when he gets back to full form and he’s able to play those 30-35 minutes on the court. Our defense is going to be very scary.”

Davis and Drummond only played 12 minutes together because of Davis’ minutes restriction, but Drummond said he already saw some of the benefits of playing alongside a superstar forward like Davis.

“Being on the same court as AD has freed up the game for me a lot to do some of the things that I’m very good at, which is rebounding,” Drummond said. “Because the focus is all on him when he has the ball: he has all five eyes on him. And not only are they doing that, but they’re leaving the best rebounder in the NBA wide open, so any shot he misses, I’m right there to clean it up.

“Once he gets in rhythm and we start to really find that feel for each other on the court, the dynamic is going to be crazy.”

As confident as Drummond is, he knows that it’s going to take time for him and Davis to get to that point. However, he’s also mindful of the fact that playoffs start in a month.

So, while they might not be on the page every night, they’re determined to make it work.

“I think today was a trial game for us,” Drummond said. “Just seeing how he hit out there with myself as well, being out there on the same court and just trying to build that chemistry right away because we don’t have a lot of time to really do this, so we’ve got to do it with the time we have now.

“We look great. We’re going to try again on Saturday and just have fun with it. We’re going to be a great, our team’s starting to come back healthy and the sky’s the limit for us.”

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