Getty Lakers big man Anthony Davis
Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis got brutally ripped by ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on May 5th’s episode of “First Take.”
Smith said Davis played like “garbage” in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals versus the Golden State Warriors.
“Anthony Davis was straight garbage last night,” Smith said. “Let’s just call it what it is. Straight garbage. I mean, he was so bad that sanitation workers might not wanna go near him and that’s their job to take out garbage. That’s how bad he was.”
Davis finished with just 11 points in Game 2 while shooting 5-of-11 from the floor. The eight-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer turned the ball over four times and finished with a plus-minus of -22 in the Lakers’ 27-point beatdown.
It was the complete opposite of what Davis did in Game 1 when he had 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. For whatever reason, Davis hasn’t been able to play well in two straight games this postseason.
Draymond Green Reveals How the Warriors Slowed Anthony Davis Down
Warriors All-Star Draymond Green had the assignment of guarding Davis in Game 2 and he did a terrific job. The one-time Defensive Player of the Year talked about his defense on the Lakers big man on his podcast.
“Got him to miss some shots,” Green said. “Really wanted to make sure I was gettin’ a contest. And if he hit shots, you have to live with that. AD’s a great player as we all know. Future Hall of Famer, NBA champion, perennial All-Star, you name it, both ends of the floor. Absolutely incredible player. And I think my mindset was just to make it tough on him. No secret sauce. Like it’s just to make him take tough shots. If you could make a guy take tough shots, you have to live with the results because a guy like that, like you don’t shut down great players like Anthony Davis. You just try to make them take tough shots and you live with the results. And I think we did a lot better job on him tonight. He finished with 11 (points), seven (rebounds) and four (assists). Last game he had 30 (points), 23 (rebounds) and five (assists).
“So it was obviously well known that we needed to do a much better job on AD coming into this game and I can’t take all the credit for that. So when you’re guarding a guy like that, it’s a complete team effort and our guys did the job collectively. And we were able to give AD to have a tough night.”
Anthony Davis: I’ll Be Better in Game 3
Davis told reporters after Game 2 that he would be better in Game 3, which will take place at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on May 6.
“I took all the same shots I took in Game 1,” Davis said. “Just missed ’em. Elbow jumpers. Pocket passes to the floater. Same exact looks. (I) didn’t shoot no shot that I didn’t shoot in Game 1. Just missed ’em. That’s all. Like Bron said, they made adjustments. Shot the ball extremely well from 3. So, we’ll be better. I’ll be better (at) making those shots. Get back home on our home floor and try to take care of business.”
Davis is averaging 20.8 points, 14.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 4.1 blocks in these playoffs.