The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Denver Nuggets in Thursday night's affair and, as a result, find themselves trailing 2-0 in this best-of-seven Western Conference Finals series. While it was a grueling showing for L.A. as a whole, with a bevy of players underperforming on the evening, perhaps the player receiving the most flack for his shortcomings is star big man Anthony Davis.
Up and down throughout the 2023 NBA Playoffs, the 30-year-old saw himself put forth yet another lackluster effort in a contest that, for a large portion of the night, looked to be an attainable win for the Lakers. Unfortunately, his inefficiency shined on through once again, as he shot just 26.7% from the field and registered a putrid -10 plus-minus rating.
Asked post-game if perhaps his struggles on the night were due to defensive adjustments made by the Nuggets, Anthony Davis provided a rather blunt response on the matter.
“I got the same looks. A lot of them were just short tonight,” Anthony Davis said.
He would then be asked a follow-up question of whether “fatigue” from playing intense defense early on against Nikola Jokic played a role in his underwhelming showing, to which he issued a one-word response: “No.”
After posting a mesmerizing stat line of 34 points, 21 rebounds, 14 assists, and 2 blocks during Tuesday's series opener, the eight-time All-Star went on to post a relative dud of a performance, at least from an efficiency standpoint, as he finished with 18 points on 4-15 shooting from the field.
Now, as the Lakers gear up for Games 3 and 4 back at Crypto.com Arena, they hope to have the NBA 75th Anniversary Team version of Anthony Davis on their side rather than the one that's been described as “garbage” during this year's postseason.
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