BREAKING: Anthony Davis Practices—Why a Return vs LA Lakers Would be a Mistake

BREAKING: Anthony Davis Practices—Why a Return vs LA Lakers Would be a Mistake

One more thing I tried to tell you Anthony Davis is probably coming back for that Lakers game, but he shouldn’t. Today’s lock on mouse. I’m not a doctor. So that’s it. It’s me versus the machine. I don’t know. Sum nice trading brush to the moon. Hot man player. Wait, wait, one more thing. Fired up. Yeah, you’re still locked on to the Dallas Mavericks. Your team every day. My name is Nick Angstead. medium member coming to the M for 10 years. Thanks for being in every day or listening every day. If you missed our episode earlier today, we talked about the uh the Anthony the Derek Lively injury, Anthony Davis potentially returning and all kinds of stuff like that. So, go listen to that episode. But today, I want to talk about Anthony Davis. He practiced today on Wednesday, November 26th, and it sounds like he’s going to return for this Lakers game, which I think is a big mistake. And so, let’s get into it. Let’s talk about all the different things. What What would it mean for Anthony Davis to return? Why shouldn’t he play against Lakers and all that? Let’s start right here. So, Anthony Davis practiced on Wednesday. Jason Kid says that he is in contention to make his return Friday against the Lakers in Los Angeles if he responds well to today’s practice. Seems like he did, but they’re going to wait a little bit. Seems like he it went well. Jason Kid said he practiced with the first group. He did a really good job. Hopefully, we can see how he feels tomorrow. He’ll make that decision against the Lakers or the Clippers if he’s going to return. So, it sounds like he’s returning for one of those two games unless he feels bad. Unless tomorrow, you know, Thursday or even Friday, he starts to feel more pain. That’s the That’s the thing with some of these injuries is it’s not just how he feels in the moment. It’s how he feels afterwards. You don’t want to reagravate something. You don’t want something to get worse. You don’t want him to be in, you know, a threat for anything crazy to happen to him, obviously, because if they’re going to try to use him this season, you don’t want him to be hurt. if you don’t if you’re going to try to trade him, you obviously don’t want him to get hurt long term. Like, there’s just so many different implications for that. Anthony Davis was asked which game he would rather return to play in, which I think is hilarious. And Christian Clark posted this. You know what game I want to play, but we’ll see. We’ll have a conversation, see what makes the most sense with the medical staff and coaching staff. No decision has been made. Of course, he wants to play for this Lakers game. I’ve been saying this for weeks now that what are the odds that he would come back for this Lakers game? The Mavs have three days off before it. Not that he needs the days off. He’s already been off, but it was right in that 7 to 10 day window. 10 days and then the Mavs had these three days off and then you have this Lakers game. He’s going to want to play against the Lakers. First of all, it’s in LA. That was his team. He won a title with that team. Of course, he’s going to want to come back there. He’ll probably get a You know what? Maybe I think he did get a uh a video tribute, but maybe he’ll get another one, right? Like that he’ll get a warm welcome from the from the crowd, get to play against LeBron and all that. And I think he still wants to prove that he is is still great, right? And still and this trade was not as crazy, one-sided, awful, disastrous as it has been actually. And so you hear Anthony Davis say that and I think it would be a big mistake for him to return in that game. LeBron has been back for three games now. And so you’re looking at the Mavericks playing against a Luca Lebron Austin Reeves like threeman three-headed pick and roll monster. Luca is just a pick and roll monster in general. to to add LeBron in that to add Ruie in to add Reeves into that and then they’ve also been starting Ruie and they’ve been starting one of DeAndre Aton or Jackson Hayes depending on who was healthy and that’s the starting lineup the Mavericks would face for Anthony Davis to come back he was already not in very good shape. Do you think he’s gotten in better shape being out with this calf injury? I don’t know. We’ve seen Luca try and come back from these calf injuries and I don’t know that he looked like he was in much better shape when he came back from those. They had to to keep him out with that wrist injury to get him to to get in better shape that last season. And so I don’t know if he’s going to be looking much better. And then for the for this big high-profile moment, Mavs play the Lakers. These are always going to be games that people make a big deal about that everybody’s going to watch, that everybody’s going to tune in for. I I was listening to Zach Low earlier today and he’s like the the LeBron returning to the Lakers games are mustwatch TV every single time they play. That team is already mustwatch TV. Imagine when they play the Mavericks. Imagine when they play this team where they made this trade where these players are playing and Luca’s playing the Mavericks. Again, this is going to be a high-profile game that a lot of people are going to watch. A lot of people around the league are going to watch and the Mavs are trying to trade Anthony Davis. And if he comes back and looks really bad in this game, that just starts the narrative of Anthony Davis back again. Now, there is this small chance, just like we talked about earlier today with the Lively thing, like there is this small chance that the Mavs like can pay Derrick Lively less and then he comes back and he’s healthy for the rest of his career. and then the Mavs had this really good contract. Like there’s a small chance that something great could happen. And I know a lot of people want to to to take the mentality of what’s the best that could happen, right? That’s that’s a thing that uh my church even has like this thing, what’s the best that could happen? Yeah, I am not that way. I’m not wired that way normally. That is a thing I’ve had to work on. What is the best that could happen? I mean, what’s the worst possible scenario? The worst possible scenario is Anthony Davis comes back and he looks awful against three pick and roll elite pick and roll ball handlers and he looks out of shape and the Mavericks lose big or they, you know, Anthony Davis comes up short. He can’t score. Like there’s just so many different things that because the Mavs offense already looked clunky when Anthony Davis was in there. Like their offense was bad the five games he played. And so you look at that worst case scenario and you go, “All right, well let’s see. Let’s see what Let’s see what what could happen with that. Now, I’ll give a couple of of moments of hope. Anthony Davis was really good against pick and roll ball handlers defending this year. According to Synergy, he’s ranked very good. That’s just right under the excellent ranking. And so, he defended pick and roll ball handlers 51% of the time on defense. He was getting picked on. Teams were trying to get that switch. Teams were trying to go against him. He was defending a lot of those. The Mavs were okay making that switch with Anthony Davis defending pick and roll ball handlers. and he was actually good. Now, it’s a small sample size obviously because it’s only five games, but it was 28 shots that he defended against and uh and I’m sure a bunch of those were deterred because how many times have you seen Anthony Davis, you know, a ball handler dribble against him in the paint and decide not to take a shot because it’s Anthony Davis sitting there in the paint and so there is a chance he comes back and looks really good and all of a sudden the Mavs defense that has been really dang good. Mavs are the number two defense. I think on Friday I’m going to do a show what’s real about the Mavs defense and there’s a lot of things that are good about the Mavs defense right now. And so maybe he comes back and the Lakers offense just tanks against the Mavs and then Anthony Davis is defending the pick and roll really well and you go, “Oh man, like this is a defender that any team in the league could use.” Like this is a a defender you could build your defense around. And so maybe that’s the best case scenario, but I just don’t think he should come back against this against this Lakers team. coming up. He also responded to some of the trade rumors and Nico firing and I think that that’s fascinating. I also talk about what changes when Anthony Davis returns for the Mavericks on the court. We’ll talk about that more. Lock time. [Music] Today’s episode of Lock Maps brought to you by Game Time. Download Game Time app, create an account, use that code, lock down NBA. Basketball season is officially here. Nothing beats being in the arena for those opening games and for a game like Anthony Davis returning for the Mavericks or like Cooper Flag scoring in the clutch. I have been to all those games. It’s been incredible. You’re going to want to be there. That’s where game time comes in. You can score amazing NBA tickets fast, easy, and stressfree. So check it out. You can see the view from your seat. You see these zone deals which are a game changer. 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But then you’re like, “Ah, now I got to drink water.” Like, what do you mean I got to drink water? So, this is a way to drink water where it actually tastes good. zero sugar, fast hydration because it’s made by a doctor uh a team of doctors that put together this a doctor developed hydration that keeps us running at full power no matter what the day looks like. Uh that made it sound like there’s just like doctors sitting around like just like a witch’s brew. Like just like right now, Drip Drop is offering podcast listeners 20% off your first order. Go to dripdrop.com. Use the promo code locked on NBA. Same one. Locked on NBA. Dripdrop.com for 20% off. Stock up now before the heat hit hits hits hard and keep your body and mind performing at their best with drip drop. Shut it down. Thanks for hanging out with us on Lock Maps being part of the show listening every day. It’s bonus episode of Lockdown Mabs to one more thing. Missed the episode of us talking about Derek Lively. Go listen to that one. Tomorrow we’ve got this show where Isaac and I are talking about Thanksgiving foods and which which NBA which Mavs player or NBA foods and why we’re thankful for Cooper Flag. And so that one is a fun one. listen to that one. And in that we talked about Nico Harrison and we talked about why we’re thankful for Nico Harrison for one one very specific thing. But Anthony Davis talked about the Nico Harrison firing and he said quote, “It was surprising more than anything.” Well, he wasn’t really paying attention. Nico’s my guy. He played a huge part in me in getting me here and wanting me to fulfill his vision. What a word. And he that he saw it was definitely tough. Me and him had a conversation. Me and Patrick Dumont had a conversation. It’s the business of basketball. I got two things on this. One, I think that it is good to hear that Nico and AD had a conversation. Great. But it’s also good that Patrick Deont and AD had a conversation. That is a thing that you do not want to have happened where Anthony Davis is shocked or surprised that something happened. Now, maybe it happened after the fact. Maybe Dumont talked to him after. I’m going to I’m going to go what’s the best that could happen and say that this happened before and hope that it happened before and that Patrick Deont and him had a conversation. Hey, this is what had to happen. But at least the conversation was had no matter if it was before or after that Anthony Davis was addressed in all this because he is a big figure in all of this. In the Nico Harrison firing, he is a big figure because nobody was more pro- Anthony Davis in the Mavs organization than Nico Harrison. Obviously, he literally was building the team around him or thought that he was. He built the this insane Luca trade around Anthony Davis. Like that is that is documented. That is what he said. And so it’s good that that conversation happened. So that’s the first thing. Second thing is that um I’m curious what the conversation was like. I’m curious to know what Patrick Deont said, “Hey, this is the business of basketball. We got to move on from this guy.” I wonder if Patrick Deont said, “Hey, we have full confidence in you.” Or if he said, “Hey, we’re we’ll work with you to get you a better home if that’s what you want to do.” And that’s the thing that we’re kind of waiting on is seeing what the Mavericks are going to do, seeing what their decision is going to be with Anthony Davis. and we’re just all kind of waiting on that. So, that’s that’s a little bit of that. He also Anthony Davis also asked about the trade rumors and he said, quote, “I have no control over that. You guys make it sound like we’re going to war or something. This is basketball comes with it. Everybody in their career has been in trade talks or involved in some type of move that doesn’t affect me. I’ve been in trade talks for a while. You guys make it sound like we’re going to war.” Yeah, because especially with this trade that happened with you. The last trade that happened with you was war for Mavericks fans. makes it sound like we’re going to war. Oh, I thought that was funny. But he’s aware of it and he’s aware of the trade talks and all that and he’s he’s aware that it might it may happen. Interesting. Anthony Davis returning to the Mavericks on the court, I think, changes a couple of things. So, obviously the the Mavs defense has still been good without Anthony Davis, which has been kind of wild. I’ve been kind of surprised by that. They’re number two in the NBA in defense on NBA.com right now. The their defensive rating is number two in the NBA. That is a wild stat. that this team is five and 14 and all that. I got a bunch of numbers I’ll go through on Friday, but I’ll give you one since you’re listening to the one more thing. I’ll give you I’ll give you one early. Um, the last time a top three defense finished the season like top, you know, top let’s go top five this bad. The Ms were five and 14 was the Wizards in 2013. They were the fifth highest defense. They finished 29 and 53. In 2011, Milwaukee was the number three defense in the NBA. They finished 35 and 47. And in 2002, Miami was number four defense. They finished 36 and 46. That’s the only This is the only three times that. And then Chicago in 2023 was the fifth defense they finished 40 and 42. That’s barely under. But those are the only four instances a team has been under 500 and finished in the top five in defense. It is rare what the Mavericks are doing right now. Very rare. And so to have Anthony Davis back would obviously change a change a lot in that sense. Um they they’d have another defender. It would make their defense even more real. I think it would help them defending the three. Right now, the Mavs are getting some three-point luck with opponents missing unguarded threes. I think those unguarded threes, the percentage of how many times those get taken, I think would go down with Anthony Davis because you don’t have to leave your guy. You can stay at home with your with your shooter if you’re a defender out on the perimeter because Anthony Davis is back there. It’s not, you know, Musa or Dwight or Daniel Gaffford back there. It’s it’s Anthony freaking Davis. And so, that is that that’s a big deal. I think I just I already mentioned the pick and roll ball handler stat. He’s been good at that. And so that’s the thing. The Mavericks have struggled with some of the switches for these bigs. And so Anthony Davis being there instead of a Daniel Gaffford instead of, you know, a PJ Washington can play next to Anthony Davis instead of just him. Him him, PJ, and Cooper Flag altogether is a really good front court that can defend in a bunch of different ways and switch and do all kinds of things. The rebounding is going to be massive. That’s the biggest change I think Anthony Davis is going to bring because I think he’ll probably play the four again. They’ll probably start next to Gaffford. They’ll probably do that again, but we’ll we’ll see. I’m fascinated to see what Jason Kid decides to do. I think he should play Anthony Davis at the five and play PJ Flag Max and then a point guard. Probably Brandon Williams. That’s probably what he should do. But maybe he’ll go back to the flag at point guard thing again. Who knows? Because that was one of the reasons why he went to flag at point guard is because he’s like, “All right, I got these I got these front court players that I have to play.” The three best players on the team right now are Anthony Davis. Uh the three best player Anthony Davis, PJ Washington, Cooper Flag. Got to play those guys. All right. Well, I also got this Clay piece I’ve got to play. And then also Lively is one of our best players. So, I got to play. So, that was one of one of the conundrums that kid was facing is like, “All right, the way that this roster is constructed, my best players, none of them are point guards. None of them are guards really. I think he’ll still probably he’ll probably play some at the four next to Gaffford.” And also so and then Musa has been Musa Cece has been playing a decent amount but I don’t know that that he’ll go straight that kid will go straight back to Anthony Davis is a four and Gaffford and Musa get all the center minutes and Dwight has only played 10 or more minutes four out of the 10 times since Anthony Davis has been out. So I don’t think that’s a an option either. And you know what one last thing here one more thing on the one more thing. It’s gonna be so nice to have somebody to throw the ball to and just like go to work. The m I know we do not like the Anthony Davis. I saw at the elbow plays, but just having somebody that you can give the ball to that is an all-star that can create a mismatch. And remember, Anthony Davis within 15 feet is almost unguardable. That is a thing that I was tracking at the beginning of this season with Anthony Davis. Like anytime he got the ball within 15 feet, he could go right to the rim against anybody. You’re think you’re you’re telling me Jackson Hayes or DeAndre Aton is going to deter Anthony Davis? We’ll see. But if he gets within that that amount of space on the floor, it’s it’s buckets. And the Mavs need buckets anyway they can get. Right now, those elbow plays, those ISO plays are PJ, Brandon Williams, D’Angelo Russell, Klay Thompson. To turn some of those into Anthony Davis plays in the in the post or in the high post or whatever is going to be much better for the Mavs offense. So, that’s how Anthony Davis changes some things. That’s Anthony Davis returning. There’s a lot of different ways that we can go through this, but but we’ll see if he returns. I think he returns against that Clippers team, but I would not be surprised if he returns against the Lakers. That would be wild to me, but we’ll see. Thanks for hanging out with us on Locked on Mabs. One more thing, go listen to all of our other episodes. Links in the description everywhere, guys. Thanks so much for listening to Locked on Mabs. Peace out. Boom.

Anthony Davis may return for the Dallas Mavericks against the Los Angeles Lakers in a highly anticipated NBA matchup, as the Mavs navigate injuries and trade rumors involving their star players. Can Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving, and the Mavs make an impact against LeBron James and a tough Lakers squad in Los Angeles?

Nick Angstadt breaks down the latest on Anthony Davis’ injury status, potential return game, and how his comeback could affect the Dallas Mavericks’ lineup, including Daniel Gafford, PJ Washington, Dereck Lively II, and Cooper Flagg. This episode also dives into trade rumors, the Nico Harrison firing, reactions from Patrick Dumont, and the implications for Jason Kidd’s rotation. Hear about matchups against Klay Thompson, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, and more NBA teams. If you’re a fan of the Dallas Mavericks, Mavs, Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, or anything NBA, this episode gives you everything you need to know before tip-off!

0:00 Anthony Davis Lakers Return Debate
7:18 Mavs Defense Impact & AD Fit
13:09 Nico Harrison Firing & Trade Rumors

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