Anthony Davis vs. Dominican Republic

[SonOfNOLA]

AD finished with 9 points (3-4 from the field & 2-3 at the FT line) and 1 rebound in 10 minutes. I know it was during a 50 point blowout exhibition game vs. a weak Dominican Republic squad, but it was still good to see him in action and get some experience playing with the best players in the league. DR was coached by John Calipari and had 2 NBA players playing for them (Horford and Francisco Garcia). They also had a 6'11 16 year old #12 Karl Towns that's supposedly the #1 prospect from their country to join the league in a few years.

I was expecting him to not play or not really do much since he was called up at the last minute and still healing from the ankle injury. But he was given plenty of opportunities to make plays on offense and it seems like the rest of the team has a lot of respect for him, despite him being only 19 and a rookie. Good positioning, awareness, efficient shooting from the FT line and field, good off the ball movement, high basketball IQ, good everything. This dude is for real, definitely going to be a star in this league.

Griffin getting injured is probably the best thing that has happened for Team USA, IMO. AD's a more complete player than him, even at 19. They wouldn't have gotten a chance to see this if not for the injury. His game can only help them going forward. I also liked how he answered a question in the post game interview on nola.com about Griffin's injury. It's been reported that he'll missed the rest of the Olympics, but Davis spoke with humility saying that I'm still an alternate and hoping for a speedy recovery for Griffin. I'm excited to see where he'll be as a player after the Olympics is over going into the season.







tweets from the ESPN reporters

Ric Bucher ‏@RicBucher
And the vets running over to help him up after 3 at the end? Translation: Welcome to the Club, Bruh.
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Ric Bucher ‏@RicBucher
It's one blow-out exhibition, but I liked what I saw of AD. Swag, solid instincts. Got winded but I'll put that on last-minute call-up.
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Ric Bucher ‏@RicBucher
Buy or sell: That sprained ankle Anthony Davis suffered last week? Word is it was the first one of his life.

J.A. Adande ‏@jadande
Sign in the crowd: Unibrow Saves America

From rotoworld

Anthony Davis - F - Hornets
Anthony Davis (ankle) will replace Blake Griffin on Team USA following Griffin's knee injury.
Davis played on his bum wheel and looked fairly good, scoring nine points in the fourth quarter including a four-point play. He'll officially be placed on the roster pending Griffin's removal any time now.

Source: AP Jul 13 - 12:55 AM

[livefromDC]

Great write up. Really appreciated. I was eager to hear how the basketball world would take him replacing Griffin. After his performance last night, I think there are few skeptics that believe he can't contribute.

I wonder if there's a clip from earlier in the game when he grabs an offensive rebound and goes up strong to score. On the way back down court, he turns to the bench and flexes his muscles as if to say, "see, I can bang down low."

I love the fact that he knew it was an audition and a chance to earn respect from the rest of the team...and he nailed it! Awesome debut from the rookie.

[St. Widge]

He has a really sweet shot for a PF. That three pointer was beautiful. If he can develop a post game, he will be a star in the NBA for a long time.

[Optimusaint]

seeing him play with TC and CP3 for the Olympics is going to make me explode.

[HennessyRob]

Seeing him go off like that followed by Brees signing his deal has made me feel wonderful.

[Brad01]

He blocked a shot but it still went in off the backboard (didn't count as a block because it went in).

He also wasn't credited with a steal, but he did catch a steal early in the 4th quarter that led to his breakaway where he got fouled on a layup attempt. Later in the fourth, he also hit the ball out of the opponent's hands that someone else on the USA caught. I'm not sure why he wasn't credited with the steal on that second one.

[SonOfNOLA]

Scrimmage game for the troops. Short video, but a couple highlights of Davis.

Kevin Love to AD alley-oop at 0:43; D-Will to AD dunk at 0:45. He showed signs of being a rookie a lil bit when CP made him turn around at 0:15 with a few ball fakes, but CP does it to everyone, younger players and other All-Stars. That could only help him the next time he matches up against CP on D in practice or other crafty Guards like him going forward.





Highlights of the exhibition game vs. DR. AD starts at 8:05..

He did a great job on D at 8:05 of forcing a turnover by pressuring #6 of DR out of bounds and led to #6 throwing it right to Igoudala and Igoudala scored 2 on the fastbreak

2 point shot over 2 defenders at 9:28
Offensive rebound of Harden's missed shot and putback at 9:35
The 4 point play at 9:43
They didn't show his uncredited breakaway steal in this vid that led to him being put at the FT line for the 9th point