Last night, the New Orleans Pelicans appeared to be cruising towards an impressive road win over the Portland Trailblazers, leading 80-68 at the end of three quarters before a bunch of players not named Anthony Davis decided to chuck the Pels out of the game, which ended in a 102-93 loss. While Davis performed somewhat of a disappearing act in the final frame, he’s also the guy who led them to that 80-68 lead in the first place. So let’s talk about that. Let’s talk about Davis’ stat line and a couple highlights that, at this point, are basically standard operating procedure.
Here’s AD blocking two shots in the span of about two seconds. Now, blocking two consecutive shots isn’t all that uncommon, but it usually happens at the rim amid a flurry of missed shots and offensive rebounds. It doesn’t happen 15 feet away from the basket against LaMarcus Aldridge, then, after regaining his footing, tracking down the carom and blocking Wes Matthews. This is inhuman.
Offensively, Davis is one of those players who will cause you to look up at the scoreboard and say “wait, how did this guy get 31 points?” You don’t remember him going to the free throw line much (he attempted only four last night, well below his season average of 6.2 attempts), which means he mid-ranged and dunked his way to 31 points, including this alley-oop on Robin Lopez.
Davis finished the game with 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals to go along with his 31 points. On the season, he currently ranks 3rd in scoring (25.2), 3rd in rebounds (11.7), 1st in steals (tied with John Wall at 2.33), and 1st in blocks (4.0). Through nine games, his PER is a whopping 37.11. The highest single-season PER in NBA history is Wilt Chamberlain’s 31.82, accomplished in the 1962-63 season. Obviously, Davis’ current PER unsustainable, especially once the grind of the regular season really kicks in. But he’ll never stop being Must-See TV.
[Video via Dawk Ins]
