Getty Anthony Davis, Jaren Jackson Jr. and LeBron James
After the Los Angeles Lakers lost Game 5 to the Memphis Grizzlies on April 26, Anthony Davis sounded off on LeBron James.
Davis said James will be “fine” after having a terrible Game 5. “The King” had 15 points and five turnovers while shooting just 5-of-17 from the field and 1-of-9 from beyond the arc.
“He got the most points scored ever,” Davis said about James. “Greatest basketball player ever to touch the court. So I mean, it’s fine. He’ll be fine. He’ll adjust. He’ll get better. Our team will get better and we try to look at Friday (Game 6) as another opportunity to end the series.”
The Lakers lost Game 5 by a final score of 116-99. The best-of-seven series is now at 3-2. Game 6 is on April 28 in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers won Games 3 and 4 at home, but Game 4 went into overtime.
James is really struggling to shoot the 3-ball in the Grizzlies series. The four-time MVP and four-time Finals MVP is shooting only 6-of-36 from deep through five games. He will have to hit some 3s in Game 6 for the Lakers to win and advance to the Western Conference Semifinals.
Jeanie Buss Is Proud of the Lakers
Lakers controlling owner and president Jeanie Buss told Natasha Dye of PEOPLE that she’s very proud of this year’s team. The purple and gold made the playoffs after starting the season 2-10.
“I’m proud of this Lakers team this season,” Buss said. “We started off poorly, and it would’ve been easy to give up. These guys committed to each other and really came in the second half of the season and made a nice playoff push, which is really what the fans want. They made that sacrifice for the greater good, for the team, and they’ve accomplished a lot because of that.”
Buss will certainly not be happy if the Lakers blow a 3-1 series lead to the Grizzlies, especially since the LakeShow have James and Davis, two of the greatest players in NBA history. James has never blown a 3-1 series lead in the playoffs during his legendary career.
Anthony Davis Got Ripped by an NBA Exec
Davis got ripped by an NBA executive who spoke to Heavy insider Steve Bulpett. The anonymous exec said Davis “ain’t got any great love for this game.”
Since signing a five-year, $190 million contract with the Lakers in December 2020, Davis has missed a lot of games due to injuries. There have also been many nights where the eight-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer has looked like a role player instead of a superstar.
Davis had 31 points and 19 rebounds in Game 5. He will have to have a monster Game 6 performance for the Lakers to win. AD has been very up and down in this series. He had 22 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks in Game 1, 13 points and nine rebounds in Game 2, 31 points and 17 rebounds in Game 3 and 12 points and 11 rebounds in Game 4.
James and Davis won the 2020 championship in their first season as teammates. However, the Lakers lost in the first round of the 2021 playoffs and missed the postseason in 2022.