The Los Angeles Lakers are tied 1-1 with the Golden State Warriors in the 2023 Western Conference Semifinal Round after the Warriors pulled away from them in the final minutes of the first half. Never able to close an ever-increasing gap due to poor defensive rotations, primarily due to effort, L.A. now takes the series back to their home court with the chance to take the series lead again.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they have to head back to Los Angeles with a little doubt in their mind. Not necessarily about whether or not they can hang with the Warriors; after all, they did defeat them rather easily in Game 1 and held the lead at various points in the first half of Game 2.
Instead, they have to question what should not be questioned — the effort and competitive drive of star big man Anthony Davis, as ESPN analyst Jay Williams summed up perfectly.
“It's hard for me to recall a superstar in this game that has such extremes,” Williams tells his co-hosts on the popular ESPN program Get Up.
“There are times when I watch AD, I'm like, your ceiling is on the level of [Nikola] Jokic or [Joel] Embiid, maybe better. But your floor is JaVale McGee. And I've never seen a superstar have that range. That gap… I just don't understand that.”
"It's hard for me to recall a superstar in this game that has such extremes. There are times when I watch AD, I'm like, your ceiling is on the level of Jokic or Embiid, maybe better. But your floor is JaVale McGee."
Jay Williams on Anthony Davis 😳pic.twitter.com/e21cMHBkwA
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 5, 2023
“I get that last night was a different game but it's the lack of him being consistently aggressive which is something that makes me worry about Anthony Davis… it's the overall mindset that you worry about. Who are you going to get every night?”
Williams, who often delivers thoughtful responses, truly hit the nail on the head when noting ADs up-and-down performances.
“It's literally like an EKG,” he says. “Like a heartbeat.”
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