Getty Lakers star Anthony Davis.
The Los Angeles Lakers have not looked like themselves in the bubble and there’s momentum building behind the top seed being upset in the first round of the playoffs.
Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley has been one of the more vocal critics of the Lakers and he took aim at Anthony Davis following the Lakers latest loss. Barkley doesn’t believe Davis has what it takes to be a championship-caliber leader.
“I still think it’s going to come down to Anthony Davis,” Barkley said. “And I don’t know if he’s got that dog in him.
“You need to have a guy who say, ‘Hey, I’m just gonna kill y’all, ain’t nothing y’all can do about it. If y’all don’t double me I’m going to go crazy. If ya’ll double me, we going to get wide-open threes.’ Anthony Davis has not proven to me that he can be that guy.”
Anthony Davis Has Proven to be Top-Tier Star
While Davis isn’t a vocal star, his play speaks volumes. He leads the Lakers in scoring with 26.4 points per game. However, he’s had some bad performances in the bubble. After delivering 42 points and 12 rebounds against the Jazz in a game that clinched the top seed in the Western Conference for he Lakers, Davis has scored just 26 in the last two games combined.
But Davis is one of the brightest stars in the NBA and — along with LeBron James — have turned the Lakers into a title favorite. He’s also a Defensive Player of the Year finalist, which was announced on Saturday. Lakers head coach Frank Vogel recently backed his Davis for the award.
“Anthony Davis is the most versatile and dominant defender in the game. It’s just that simple. He’s the best rim protector, he can switch out and guard all positions on the perimeter,” Vogel said. “He just has a skill set that’s unlike everybody else in the NBA.”
Charley Barkley Predicts That Lakers Will be Upset
If there’s a team Barkley believes in, it’s the Portland Trail Blazers, who he picked to not only upset the Lakers in the first round, but make it to the NBA Finals.
“I already said that if they get the No. 8 spot they are going to beat the Lakers. Not only that, they will go to the NBA Finals.
“They have the best backcourt in the NBA because both (Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson) are injured. You’ve got Nurkic coming off the bench who can do it all,” Barkley said. “Gary Trent has been amazing,” Barkley added. “You’ve got Zach Collins coming in. You’ve got (Hassan) Whiteside that’s blocking everything. They are big and strong. Listen, whoever plays that team, you’re going to have to bring it. Plain and simple.”
The Blazers have some work to do before that matchup can even be possible. They lost to the Clippers on Saturday and remain behind the Grizzlies for the No. 8 seed. If they aren’t able to wrangle it from the Grizzlies, they’ll have to win two in a row against Ja Morant’s crew in a play-in situation.
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