Without Ja Morant for Wednesday’s Game 2 matchup, the Los Angeles Lakers were hoping to take a 2-0 series lead back to their home court to close out the series in a clean sweep.
Instead, they lost the game due to poor performances from almost the entire team outside of LeBron and Rui Hachimura. Even Anthony Davis was lackluster in the matchup, and Stephen A. Smith made sure to call him out for his efforts on First Take this week.
“It was shameful,” Smith said. “Especially by Anthony Davis. He should be ashamed of himself the way he played last night. I will remind you that Steven Adams is gone. I will remind you that some dude named Xavier Tillman rolled up in there and had 22 points and 13 rebounds. You knew coming into the series that Anthony Davis has to be the focus. He was nowhere to be found. That is unconscionable. … If this becomes a series, enough time for Ja Morant to get back, if God forbid, you lose this series, we’re gonna look at Game 2 as a missed opportunity. And that missed opportunity was by one man. The one person that you were supposed to be able to rely upon was Anthony Davis and he was a no-show. Period. Shameful performance. Shameful.”
.@stephenasmith calls the Lakers' performance in Game 2 "shameful" 😳
"The one person that you were supposed to be able to rely upon … was Anthony Davis and he was a no-show. Period." pic.twitter.com/C4XWanxuH5
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 20, 2023
Davis scored just 13 points in Game 2 and struggled to find a rhythm all night long. While Davis has been great for the Lakers all season, he’s going to need to be better than he was last night if they want to make any kind of playoff noise this year.
Is It Time To Worry About AD?
Obviously, we all know what kind of injury history Davis has, and many fans are worried that he’s either not fully healthy or that he’ll experience some kind of injury before the end of the playoffs.
As far as Game 3 goes, AD says he’s ready to make amends for his shortcomings on Wednesday.
“I liked the shots that I took,” Davis said. “I just missed them. A lot of shots close to the rim that normally go in. Flush it and get ready for [Game 3].”
It will be interesting to see how Davis responds to his latest playoff stinker, but it’s not time to panic yet. Even if the Lakers lose their next game at home, they can still bank on LeBron to give them a chance when it matters most.
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