Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry sounded off on Anthony Davis after the Los Angeles Lakers won Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
Curry said it takes a game or two to gauge Davis’ length and his ability to alter and block shots.
“For sure. It’s also because of how they’re playing us,” Curry said. “They know they want to take away our threes, even though we got 50 of ’em up. They wanna try to put pressure on the perimeter, funnel everything into the paint and allow him to disrupt a lot and close the space pretty quick. It’s kind of deceiving. You feel like you have a good look to get it over the top and he gets a fingertip on it. So you gotta respect it. Like that’s how he makes an impact on that end of the floor. And you can’t be stubborn thinking you can just keep going in there. You still got to be able to drive and put pressure on the rim, but you can do it in a creative way. So yes, you got to feel it because it’s impactful.”
Davis had four blocks in Game 1 to go along with 30 points, 23 rebounds and five assists. The Warriors had no one who could stop the Lakers star, who shot 11-of-19 from the field. Los Angeles beat Golden State by a final score of 117-112 to steal home-cour advantage in the best-of-seven series.
LeBron James: Anthony Davis Will Get His Jersey Retired by the Lakers One Day
LeBron James believes Davis will get his No. 3 jersey retired by the Lakers one day. Davis helped the purple and gold win the 2020 championship in the Walt Disney World bubble and became the fifth player in franchise history to have at least 30 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor and Shaquille O’Neal.
“The Lakers franchise over the years, over the course of their existence, has always had dominant big men. Dominant guys that have been a force at the rim,” James said. “And that’s why their jerseys are in the rafters. And AD will be up there when he’s done playing. And the No. 3 will be up in the rafters. And he continues to show why he’s one of the best players that we have in this league. And for us, it’s a treat for us to be able to have such a dynamic player that can not only go out and get you 30 and 20, but also command the paint defensively, can switch out to guards and also give you five assists as well.”
James and Davis combined for 52 points and 34 rebounds in Game 1. The two future Hall of Famers are looking to win their second title together and they are three wins away from knocking out the defending champions and advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals.
Darvin Ham on LeBron James: He’s Playing a Total Game
James had 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in Game 1. Lakers head coach Darvin Ham believes “The King” is playing a “total” game for the LakeShow.
“He’s just playin’ a total game, man,” Ham said. “He’s not forcin’ anything. And that’s who he’s been his entire career. We knew what we did off the ball defensively, particularly, would be extremely important. And he was all on board for that and understood why we had to do it. And he did his part. And defensive rebound is a huge thing. And so some of the blocks he had, some of the hard, tough rebounds he had, it allows us a lot of flexibility defensively. And then offensively, he’s just playin’ the right way. It’s times where he’s gonna dictate the pick-and-roll, dictate the offense. It’s times he’s gonna be off the ball. And we got guys around him that can carry the load, from D’Lo to Austin to Dennis, Rui. Obviously AD.
“So it gives him a chance to not have to make every play. And so now down the stretch when we really need him to step up and dominate, the ball particularly, he’s able to do that with a lot of gas left in his tank.”
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Stephen Curry Sends Strong Message on Anthony Davis After Lakers Beat Warriors