Anthony Davis did not impress on opening night against the Denver Nuggets, as he failed to score a point in the second half of the contest. The Los Angeles Lakers would end up losing 119-107 and after the game, Davis explained why he went scoreless.
“(They) started double-teaming, they were trying to crowd the paint,” Davis said. “I missed some easy little layups around the rim, little jumpers. But just trying to make the right play. Kick it out to our guys (when) they double… Gave open threes, just didn’t fall, but. Just gotta shoot it more.”
(starts at 1:29 mark):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYxHvKlDoBs
While you appreciate the fact that Davis wants to make the right play when he gets doubled, he has to be a bit more aggressive in general. He took only six shots in the second half, and that’s just not enough.
Another concerning aspect was his rebounding. Davis ended the night with just 8 rebounds to go with 17 points, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. His opposite number, Nikola Jokic, meanwhile, had 29 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.
There is no shame in getting outplayed by Jokic, but you can’t get out-hustled by him on the glass, the way Davis was here.
NBA Fans Called Out Anthony Davis
There were a lot of expectations placed on Davis coming into this season, and he served up a dud in the opener. NBA fans unsurprisingly blasted him for his poor performance.
One fan says the Davis-Jokic matchup is not even close at this point.
NGL That AD vs Jokic match up ain’t even close at this point.
— KeSean Robinson (@301_Ke) October 25, 2023
A fan blasted Davis for some of his teammates outperforming him on the court.
Taurean Prince and a 40 year old LeBron got more points than AD. Austin Reaves got more rebounds than AD. On a season where he’s supposed to show it’s his team. Meanwhile Jokic casually dropped a 30 pts triple double on AD..
Year 21 and Bron still can’t get AD to step up🤦♂️
— 𝐆𝐄𝐄𝐙𝐘✎ツ (@YoungPiccasso) October 25, 2023
One says Davis should not be in the same conversation as Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Stop putting him in the conversation with the likes of Giannis & Jokic
— CAGEY 🔥🎤📻 (@CageyProlific) October 25, 2023
LeBron will once again have to carry the Lakers, one fan lamented.
sad man lebron gonna have to carry again
— 𝗧𝗲𝗲𝘇𝗼 (@TeezosWrld) October 25, 2023
One fan says Davis is the most overrated player ever.
most overrated player in nba history
— skorch.ΞTH 🔥 🐵 (@skorch__) October 25, 2023
There really is no defending that second-half performance. It’d be one thing if it was an aberration, but we saw this happen so many times last season. He would just disappear on the offensive end for stretches and even games, and the Lakers struggled whenever that happened.
It’s quite simple: if Davis keeps this up, the Lakers are not going to win the championship. They’ve got a good team and LeBron James, who had 21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal, is still playing at a high level, but unless Davis is consistently a force on the offensive end, they won’t win it all.
Bill Simmons Roasted Anthony Davis
What made that second half even more embarrassing were the comments that the eight-time All-Star had made during media day. Davis had thrown some shade at the Nuggets for all their trash-talking and said he couldn’t wait to play them. Bill Simmons hilariously brought up those comments after this loss.
“Update: AD was motivated for a solid hour.”
Update: AD was motivated for a solid hour pic.twitter.com/VFhjrkQPVO
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) October 25, 2023
It was just a regular season game, but the Nuggets backed up all their talk while Davis and the Lakers did not. This was their sixth consecutive defeat to Denver and we might soon get to the point where a mental block of sorts might start to develop.
The Lakers won’t get a chance to end that losing streak for a while, as the next meeting will be in Los Angeles on February 8. For now, they’ll attempt to right the wrongs from this loss when they take on the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
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