Anthony Davis has silenced a lot of his doubters with his excellence on the court this season and played a big role in helping the Los Angeles Lakers get to the playoffs.
They will face the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, but despite Davis’ good play, Stephen A. Smith trusts Ja Morant more than him to ball out in the series.
“Ja Morant, I mean, is that a trick question? Of course, it’s Ja Morant,” Smith said on First Take. “That’s exactly who I expect to ball out more so… I’m not telling you that Anthony Davis is going to have a bad series. This brother can average 28 and 10 in his sleep. But Ja Morant, his play, his electrifying talent, and the ability it has to galvanize and inspire and elevate those around him, I think could be an x-factor in this series, particularly with them having home-court advantage.”
Smith also brought up Davis’ injuries as the reason why he would trust Morant more than him.
“I’m always worried about Anthony Davis,” Smith said. “Every time he falls to the floor, I’m worried about him not getting up. I mean I don’t give a damn what it is okay? He can trip over himself and nobody could touch him and I’m saying please get up. That’s what I’m worried about with Anthony Davis.”
.@stephenasmith says he trusts Ja Morant MORE than Anthony Davis in the Grizzlies-Lakers series 👀 pic.twitter.com/PLGuWRIoj9
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 14, 2023
The injuries are definitely a concern when it comes to Davis but if both of them stay healthy, you can expect them to put on a show in this series. In 14 playoff games, Morant has averaged 28.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 9.2 APG, and 1.4 SPG. If he hadn’t gotten injured against the Golden State Warriors last year, one wonders how differently things could have panned out.
As for Davis, he has averaged 27.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, and 1.8 BPG in his 39 playoff games. He was at his dominant best when the Lakers won the title in 2020 and they’ll be hoping he can replicate those heroics here. The one other issue with Davis, which isn’t a concern with Ja, is that he sometimes tends to not be aggressive on the court. There have been games this season where he just doesn’t take a lot of shots and as LeBron James hilariously said, Davis needs a kick up his a** at times to get going.
Draymond Green Is Picking The Lakers To Beat The Grizzlies
While Smith thinks the Lakers could lose to the Grizzlies and an anonymous coach thinks Memphis would beat them in five games, Draymond Green is backing the Lakers to win. He doesn’t think it would be easy but believes LeBron will control the tempo of the games while a shot-blocker like Davis can bother Morant.
These teams met thrice in the regular season, with the Lakers winning the season series 2-1. They lost the only game in Memphis, however, and the Grizzlies have home-court advantage in this series. The Grizzlies also finished with the best home record in the NBA at 35-6, so it is going to take a special effort to get past them.
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