Frank Vogel on 22-point first half from Anthony Davis in his Lakers debut: ‘He’s a monster’

Frank Vogel is happy to have Anthony Davis on his team after the All-Star forward showed out in his Lakers debut.

Anthony Davis made his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers a memorable one, scoring 22 points on 56.3 percent shooting from the field and grabbing 10 rebounds through 18:25 in the first half against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.

After the team’s commanding 123-101 victory at the new Chase Center in San Fransisco, head coach Frank Vogel told Spectrum SportsNet that he thought Davis had a strong debut, but thinks it’s only the beginning for the 26-year-old forward:

“He’s a monster. It’s going to be very difficult to slow him down with what we have around him and I’m excited about what he’s going to do and Lakers fans should be too.”

LeBron James also complimentary of Davis, who he dished out three of his eight assists to on Saturday:

“Just his basketball intelligence — he’s very intelligent out on the floor. He know exactly where he wants to get on the floor. His ability to rebound and block shots as well. He’s a very efficient player.”

James and Davis connected on a few buckets out of the pick n’ roll, something Davis said he expects plenty more of as the season goes on because of how versatile James is:

“It’s tough to cover. You’ve got a guy like him going downhill and a guy like me who’s rolling, who’s a lob threat — you’ve got to pick your poison. You know he’s getting to his strong hand, he’s in the paint and then you got me rolling behind, so either he’s going to go finish, pass or a lob — especially when it’s a clear like that — it’s a tough play to guard.”

There are still a few things that need to be ironed out with the roster — as is to be expected with a new team and a new head coach — but James seems to already know how to get the best out of Davis. As they continue to feed off of each other and the players around them settle into their roles, they’re going to be a tough team to beat.

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