Los Angeles Lakers: Anthony Davis looking to set the tone in preseason

Anthony Davis wants to see the Los Angeles Lakers set the tone for the 2019-20 regular season with their performance in the 2019 preseason.

The Los Angeles Lakers have high expectations for the 2019-20 season. A big reason for those expectations was the acquisition of Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans.

After unsuccessfully trading for Davis at the deadline in February, Rob Pelinka was able to pull it off prior to the 2019 NBA Draft. It was not cheap, as the Lakers traded away Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and four future first-round picks, including their 2019 first-rounder.

While the price to land Davis was expensive, they were able to hold onto Kyle Kuzma, giving the Lakers a really solid trio to work with. While fans were sad to see a large portion of the young core leave town, they have to be excited about what Davis brings to the table.

While he has some injury concerns, Davis is easily a top-five talent in the NBA. He is a difference-maker in all facets of the game, as he is as dominant offensively as he is on defense. Davis is a player that is capable of setting the tone for his team, and that is exactly what he is looking to do during the preseason.

"“We want to set a tone for ourselves coming out, playing great defensively, moving the ball offensively and getting great shots. Even though these preseason games, the minutes are not going to be the same as the regular season, but we want to come out and portray the type of team that we’re going to be in the amount of minutes that we have.”"

That is exactly what they did in the first preseason game of 2019 against the Golden State Warriors. The Lakers came out looking like they had something to prove and handled their business with relative ease.

Los Angeles won the game 123-101 as they controlled things right from the opening tip. Davis was a driving force in the dominating performance, as he scored 17 points with seven rebounds in the first quarter.

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Davis would finish the game registering a double-double, scoring 22 points with 10 rebounds. He accomplished that despite only getting on the court in the first half, as multiple veterans were rested in the second half.

Expect Davis to look to have a similar impact in the remaining five games of the preseason no matter how many minutes he receives.

"“Any time you get on the floor for these next five games of the preseason, we want to make sure that we come out and do the things that we need to do to help us.”"

So far so good on that sentiment. Davis was unstoppable against the Warriors despite matching up with Draymond Green, one of the best defenders in the NBA.

With so many new players on the roster, it is important for them to make the most of the minutes they play, just as Davis suggested.

If Davis continues bringing the same intensity to the court that he did against the Warriors, the rest of his teammates will follow. When your best player and leader is setting the tone just as Davis says he wants to, everyone else takes notice and does the same.