While Devin Booker’s 34-point game in his first playoff game stole the show, Anthony Davis’ substandard performance drew criticism from the NBA spectrum.
At his peak, Davis plays like a top-five player in the league. His defensive prowess, especially when manning the paint, always shines. But his offensive game becomes dangerous for opponents when his mid-range jumper starts falling.
However, Davis didn’t bring that high level of energy and play the league is accustomed to seeing, resulting in Deandre Ayton, who also made his playoff debut, outrivaling Davis in the opening showdown.
Whereas Davis scored 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds, Ayton chipped in 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting with 16 rebounds. Ayton’s play resembled an eight-time NBA All-Star, while Davis seemed to play like it was his playoff debut — the complete opposite showings.
How Davis came out to play didn’t sit well with Stephen A. Smith. On ESPN’s “First Take”, Smith called Davis’ performance ‘atrocious’.
Smith did not like how Ayton outperformed Davis when Davis has the championship-caliber experience.
In the 5:33 minutes Ayton directly guarded Davis, Davis shot 2-of-9 (22.2%) from the field. Vice versa, Davis guarded Ayton for 4:56 minutes, but Ayton made all three of his attempts.
Smith does believe AD will respond with an improved showing in Game 2, citing how the Lakers’ big man has usually answered the call after a disappointing game.
“Anthony Davis is one of the top 5 players on the planet when healthy. Anthony Davis had an atrocious performance. An atrocious performance, and Anthony Davis knows it. And I have no doubt that he’s gonna come back after this, because we’ve seen him respond when he’s had questionable performances in the past and make amends immediately. And I fully expect it.
Here’s what I would say to Anthony Davis: ‘you damn well better have.'”
Check out the full conversation above, courtesy of ESPN’s YouTube channel.
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