BBBNA: Davis wants help in LA, Richards sets career high in boards, Vanderbilt debuts
Anthony Davis continues to put up Godzilla-like numbers for the Los Angeles Lakers. On Saturday against the Warriors, Davis put up monster numbers to help the Lake Show get the win with 36 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, and a block. This comes two days after a 24 and eight-night and another win. Davis is one of two players in the entire league to lead his team in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks.
The Lakers have won three games in a row and sit in 6th place in the Western Conference standings, but despite the recent successes, Davis still feels like the Lakers need some more help before the trade deadline.
“I think we need another big,” Davis told ESPN’s Shams Charania this week. “I feel like I’ve always been at my best when I’ve been the 4, having a big out there. We know it worked when we won a championship with JaVale [McGee] and Dwight [Howard] at the 5 and I’m at the 4. We feel like we are right there, you know, as far as the team and everything like that. [LeBron James] and I are like very, very motivated to win another championship.”
The NBA trade deadline is February 6th as several teams are looking to make moves and jockey for positions heading into the playoffs.
Jarred Vanderbilt made his season debut for the Lakers
Almost a full year to the day since he last stepped foot on an NBA court, Jarred Vanderbilt made this long-awaited return to the Lakers’ lineup on Saturday in the team’s aforementioned win over the Golden State Warriors. Foot is the operative word in that sentence as a foot strain is what kept him sidelined for 360 days, the same ailment that forced him to miss extended time when he was at Kentucky.
It was a modest debut for the man they call Vando, but he put a couple of tickmarks in nearly every category. He had two points, four rebounds, two assists, and three steals in his 12 minutes. The Vandalorion might not be the one to fill Davis’s desire for another big man, but the versatile 6-foot-8 athlete is a defensive menace. We’ll see if he can get back into form quickly for the back half of the season.
Nick Richards sets career-high in rebounds
5th-year Nick Richards has been settling in with his new team just fine. On Saturday in Phoenix’s win over the Washington Wizards, Richards set a career-high in rebounds with 19 to go along with 20 points on 7-12 from the field. Even more impressive, he had 18 rebounds midway through the third quarter.
His teammates, of course, gave him a hard time for only getting one board the rest of the way and coming up one short of 20. After the game, Richards admitted, “Ah man, they were making fun of me [for not getting that 20th rebound], actually. But it’s gonna come. I ain’t too worried about it. [Devin Booker] and [Tyrus Jones], they stole like three from me, so we’re gonna talk about that another day.”
Richards is now averaging 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 67 percent from the field in his short time in Phoenix.
Meanwhile, Devin Booker has been turning up the scoring himself, scoring at least 30 points in seven of the Suns’ last 10 games.
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Tyrese Maxey is on an incredible scoring streak
Tyrese Maxey extended his streak of scoring at least 25 points to 10 consecutive games on Saturday, dropping 31 against the Bulls. It makes the 4th-longest scoring streak in the NBA this season. Maxey also had nine assists, five rebounds, and two steals in the 76ers’ 12-point victory over Chicago.
With James Harden shipped off to LA and Joel Embiid plagued with injuries this year, Philly has become Maxey’s team and he’s making the most of his new leading role.
Speaking of roles, two-way player Justin Edwards continues to be a staple in the Sixers’ rotation. He played 19 minutes against the Bulls, and although he scored only three points, he led the team with three steals.
Keldon Johnson wears a cowboy hat in Paris
The NBA featured two games in Paris, France this week and former Kentucky guard Keldon Johnson went full American. Johnson donned a cowboy hat during both in a team photo-op in front of the Eiffel Tower as well as during his entrance into the arena. After all, as Matt Jones can attest, when you own a cowboy hat, you have to wear it every opportunity you get a chance.
On the court, the San Antonio Spurs and the Indiana Pacers split the two-game series in front of Parisian NBA fans. Johnson had nine points in the Spurs’ 30-point blowout on Thursday and four points in the Pacers’ 30-point blowout on Saturday.
The games might not have been super competitive, but Johnson being aggressively Texan in France made me laugh. No word on if he wore a Mickey Mouse fanny pack or asked a cab driver why they pronounce it “Par-EE” instead of “Paris.” The line of the trip, though, came from Chris Paul, when he told Victor Wembanyama that the Eiffel Tower looked like his twin.
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