Getty Lakers' Anthony Davis
After the Los Angeles Lakers lost Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals to the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center on May 4, Anthony Davis spoke about his subpar performance.
The eight-time All-Star had only 11 points in 33 minutes while shooting 5-of-11 from the field. Davis turned the ball over four times and finished with a plus-minus of -22.
“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 couldn’t be stopped in Game 1 of this series. The Chicago native had 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocks while shooting 11-of-19 from the floor and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. The Warriors changed things up in Game 2 by putting Draymond Green on Davis and starting JaMychal Green over Kevon Looney, who was sick.
The Lakers won Game 1 of this series, so they stole home-court advantage. However, they have to win Games 3 and 4 at home to keep home-court advantage.
Darvin Ham on Anthony Davis: Have to Put Him in ‘Different Actions’
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham told reporters that he and his staff have to put Davis in different actions in Game 3 for the All-NBA power forward to play better.
“We gotta go back and look at ways we can move ‘A’ around,” Ham said. “Put him in different spacing, different actions and just try to diversify his attack.”
Davis has been inconsistent in this postseason thus far. He had 22 points in Game 1 of the first round against the Memphis Grizzlies, 13 in Game 2, 31 in Game 3, 12 in Game 4, 31 in Game 5 and 16 in Game 6. Not much has changed for Davis in the second round, as the future Hall of Famer has started the Warriors series with 30 points in Game 1 and 11 in Game 2.
LeBron James After Game 2: ‘Warriors Made Their Adjustments’
LeBron James, who had 23 points in Game 2, told the media that the Warriors made adjustments after Game 1 and that it’s up to the Lakers to make their own adjustments for Game 3 in Los Angeles.
“They made their adjustments and we knew they were gonna do that,” James said. “That’s what a championship team does and they held serve on their home court tonight and we gotta obviously see the adjustments they made. We gotta make our adjustments.”
James shot 10-of-18 overall and 3-of-8 from beyond the arc in Game 2. The four-time MVP and four-time Finals MVP had seven rebounds and three assists to go along with his 23 points. However, since the Warriors won in blowout fashion, James had a plus-minus of -27.
Game 3 of this series is on May 6 at Crypto.com Arena, where the Lakers are 3-0 in these playoffs. Davis will have to have a stellar game for Los Angeles to win and go up 2-1 versus the defending champions.