NEW ORLEANS – There may come a time when the Warriors appreciate this, when they look back at the flames through which they have passed and survived, having sustained only moderate burns.
Until then, though, they’ll have to dance with fire. Torched by Spurs All-Star big man LaMarcus Aldridge on Tuesday, the Warriors now confront Pelicans All-Star power forward Anthony Davis.
That would be the Anthony Davis, the 6-foot-10 talent who in the season opener Wednesday night gave New Orleans 50 points, 16 rebounds, seven steals, five assists and four blocks.
“We watched the tape today,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Thursday evening, after the team practiced upon arrival in the Bayou. “Scary. Scary.”
Davis has become the great player who gets overlooked, mostly because injuries have nagged him in each of his first four NBA seasons; he has missed at least 14 games every year. Once widely considered the league’s brightest under-25 star, he’s still only 23 but has to remind observers of his considerable talents.
A 50-16-7-5-4 line served as a potent reminder, even if Davis posted it in a 107-102 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
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“I was telling one our coaches,” Kerr said, “he looks to me like . . . ‘You ever see a pickup game where there’s a high-school kid playing but everybody else is 12? And the 12-year-olds are good, but the high-school kid is physically posting up, knocking people around, shooting jumpers, doing whatever he wants. That’s Anthony.
“He’s so big and so skilled, you can’t believe that the skill can come in that body. There are guys who are Anthony’s size around the league, but most of them are screen-setters and defenders. This guy plays like a point guard.”
Davis is more skilled than Aldridge, but is an inch shorter and doesn’t have the brawny physique. Aldridge had his way with any defender he saw, totaling 26 points, 14 rebounds and three assists in a 129-100 pasting of the Warriors. Draymond Green’s past success against Aldridge was of no benefit.
So this represents a chance for Green – one of the league’s best defenders – to acquit himself. He will draw Davis at the start, but Kerr was quick to say Kevin Durant – at 6-10 (or so) a fairer physical matchup – also will get chances.
“We’ll see how the game goes,” Kerr said. “And we’ll try to find something that works.
“Obviously, we want to slow him down. But I’m just thrilled for him, that he’s healthy and playing. I know he got hurt during preseason, so it’s good to see him back this quickly. We’ll have our hands full. But that’s a challenge that we look forward to.”
