USA vs. Great Britain Basketball: Anthony Davis Proves He Needs Bigger Role
After Anthony Davis' dominant display in garbage time of Team USA's exhibition matchup with Great Britain, it's quite clear that the incoming rookie for the New Orleans Hornets needs to be receiving more playing time.
Unibrow fever isn't constrained to Lexington, New Orleans or even the United States anymore. It's about to go international when actual play at the Olympics begins in London.
Unlike the games against the Dominican Republic (didn't enter until the fourth quarter) and Brazil (received the dreaded DNP), Davis entered the game for the first time in the second quarter, then again in the fourth.
In his 12 minutes and 55 seconds on the court, Davis shot 5-of-7 from the field and never coughed the ball up. Most of his production came in fourth-quarter garbage time as he recorded 11 points, three rebounds and a game-high four blocks, twice as many as the entire Great Britain squad.
Multiple alley-oops were finished by the explosive big man, and his performance went a long way towards showing that he can indeed compete at the international level despite never stepping foot on an NBA court.
As he continues to earn experience in games and learn from the best teammates in the world, Davis should carve out an even bigger role on Mike Krzyzewski's squad.
His air ball aside, Davis looked like he already belonged on the court, playing alongside LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Chris Paul and the rest of the best healthy players that the United States has to offer.
The problem hasn't manifested itself yet, but then again, Team USA hasn't faced Spain, Argentina, Lithuania, France or Greece yet. Length is eventually going to be at least a minor issue at some point.
With Tyson Chandler serving as the only true center on the squad, and the defensively-lackluster Kevin Love backing him up, Davis needs to continue to play as much as Coach K can justify getting him out on the court.
The head coach of the squad had nothing but positive things to say about the unibrowed big man after the game, as shown in an interview transcribed by USA Basketball's official website:
"Well he’s a developing pro. He’s the best college player in the country, I really thought by far. He wasn’t sure he was even going to be on the team. He joined us almost 10 days late, so he’s catching up, getting the knowledge of our system. Tonight, he played really well. When we went zone, the physicality of the game did not enter into his game. He was able to roam free and that may be a weapon for us—we go zone and have Anthony in the middle because he can certainly block some shots. He did a great job for us.
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As Davis continues to become more and more comfortable playing alongside his new teammates, he's only going to look better.
The former Wildcat and reigning No. 1 draft pick has excelled at every level of basketball he's played since his massive growth spurt, and this one is shaping up to follow suit.
