Getty Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
After a Game 1 dud, the Golden State Warriors turned things around on Thursday night, crushing the Los Angeles Lakers 127-100 and evening the series at 1-1.
Head coach Steve Kerr decided to make a plethora of defensive adjustments to account for the Lakers’ interior presence, the most notable of which was the insertion of JaMychal Green into the starting lineup for Kevon Looney.
In turn, Looney couldn’t guard Anthony Davis, so the responsibility was passed onto Draymond Green. After dominating game 1, Davis played poorly in Game 2, but when asked if the switch of putting Green on him had any impact, he denied it.
“I don’t think so. I mean, I took all the same shots I took in Game 1. Just missed them,” Davis said. “Elbow jumpers, pocket passes to the floater—the same exact looks. Didn’t shoot any shots that I didn’t shoot in Game 1. I just missed them. That’s all. Like Bron said, they made adjustments. They shot the ball extremely well from three. So, we’ll be better. I’ll be better at making those shots. Get back home on the home floor and try to take care of business.”
In Game 1, Davis churned in a 30-point, 23-rebound performance, sinking shot after shot against the Warriors. He failed to reproduce that same impact in Game 1.
He finished the game with just 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field. Davis added seven rebounds, four assists, one steal, and three blocks to his totals, but he didn’t play in the fourth quarter as the Warriors were already up by nearly 30 points.
Steve Kerr Discusses JaMychal Green Insertion Into Starting Lineup
As noted, JaMychal Green’s insertion into the starting five was the story of the night for the Warriors. It allowed them to space the floor, pulled Davis out of the paint on defense, and enhanced their three-point attack as a whole.
By night’s end, Green had poured on 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting overall and 3-of-6 shooting from deep. Kerr gave the veteran forward a ton of credit for staying ready during his post-game press conference.
“I’m just proud of J-Mike. It’s been a tough year for him for a lot of reasons…,” Kerr said via 95.7 The Game. “He just stayed ready, and he took advantage of his opportunity.”
LeBron James Shows Love to Warriors’ Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, & JaMychal Green
Meanwhile, during his own post-game presser, LeBron James doled out a ton of credit to Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and JaMychal Green for their performances in the Warriors’ Game 2 win.
“We’re still the best defensive team in the league if not one of them,” James said. “So, that doesn’t change, and that’s what we hang our hats on. But like I said, you give credit where credit’s due. Klay was spectacular tonight. Draymond was great in the pocket pass with the rolls and things of that nature. JaMychal gave them big-time minutes. Those 12 minutes felt like 24 minutes [or] 30 minutes. He was big-time for their team in a starting role tonight, too. So, you give credit where credit is due, and we move on to the next game. But our defense is where we hang our hats, and that doesn’t stop, no matter who we’re playing against.”
