LeBron? Steph? Lakers-Warriors series may come down to Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis joins Tim Duncan as the only players in the last 45 years with 30 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks in a playoff game.
SAN FRANCISCO — Just a few hours after a winner was declared between two big men who arm-wrestled all season for the Kia MVP trophy, a third seized another honor:
Best big man in these playoffs so far?
Well, it’s up for debate if nothing else, and definitely ongoing here midway through the postseason, and that says plenty about Anthony Davis and also a basketball species once declared all but dead in the modern, analytic-crazed, 3-point delirious sport.
As the Lakers look to snatch a 2-0 lead Thursday (9 ET, ESPN) in their semifinals series with the Warriors, the NBA is feeling rather nostalgic. Many years ago — prehistoric times for this generation — 7-footers roamed and ruled the league, especially this time of year: Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, the Robert Parish-Kevin McHale combo and more. Championships depended heavily on which team brought the best big.
Then Stephen Curry changed the game.
And now, coincidently, Davis is trying to put Curry in the 2022-23 rearview mirror much as Curry once did to those who look like AD. In a weird twist, this Lakers-Warriors series might be more about Curry and Davis than Curry and LeBron James, especially if the clues dropped in the Lakers’ Game 1 victory prove prophetic.
Davis gave the Lakers a 30-20 (points, rebounds) in Game 1 and the last Lakers player to post those numbers in the postseason was Shaquille O’Neal in 2004. This wasn’t a mirage by the 6-foot-10 forward-center, though: he had a similar impact throughout most of the first-round series with the Grizzlies.
“I mean, he’s everything for us,” said Lakers teammate Dennis Schroder, “defensively and offensively. He’s the anchor.”
The Warriors threw a zone at the Lakers to help drive their rally late in Game 1. How effective will it prove after L.A. has a chance to watch tape?
The obvious elements that big men hold over everyone else — the ability to protect the rim defensively and drop high-percentage shots on offense — remain a very desirable skill no matter how much the court is stretched to cater to the 3-point shooters and isolationists. And it helps when such big men can also perform those tasks associated with smaller players. Davis has an advantage over his peers with quickness, decent bounce off the dribble and stretchy shooting range.
Are the Lakers now … Anthony Davis’ team?
“Great player,” said Warriors forward Draymond Green. “When you are guarding a player like AD, it’s never going to be one player that shuts him down. It takes a team effort.”
Here’s what’s crazy, though: Davis is being defended by a fellow big who’s on a rebounding roll not seen in these parts since Wilt Chamberlain. Kevon Looney has grabbed at least 20 rebounds in four of the last six games, and the 23 he grabbed against the Lakers and Davis was a career high. Wasn’t he categorized as a role player just, what, a few months ago? And for all of his career? Well, that conversation changed in the first round when he outplayed and outworked All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis of the Kings (who could make an All-NBA team this year) and opened the semifinals by being just as thirsty around the glass against Davis.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said: “Loon is one of the best centers in the league.”
That’s high praise for Looney, and the mere fact that centers are in the conversation right now says plenty about what’s happening here in the stretch run. Joel Embiid is the freshly named Kia MVP (after finishing runner-up the last two seasons). Embiid was dominant for Philly all season where he became the league scoring champ and also made his usual impact as a rim protector on defense.
In the West, should Davis and the Lakers get by the Warriors, they could see Nikola Jokic, who has the Nuggets up 2-0 on the Suns. Jokic was the MVP runner-up after winning the award the last two seasons and has bigger goals in sight — like his first NBA championship. Jokic delivered 39 points and 16 rebounds a few nights ago in the Game 2 win over Phoenix and of all the stars still on the floor; he’s probably the most valuable to his team. When he sits, the Nuggets are among the least productive teams in the league. When he is on the floor, they’re the most productive. That has plenty to do with his passing skills and court vision and ability to completely alter the way teams play the Nuggets.
It’s a big-man party then, where the likelihood of two sizable (literally) stars opposing each other next month in the NBA Finals is decent.
When you are guarding a player like AD, it’s never going to be one player that shuts him down. It takes a team effort.”
— Warriors forward Draymond Green, on Anthony Davis
As for Davis, the only lingering issue with him is a persistent and annoying one. Will his body hold up to and combat the rigors and demands of the playoffs? He does have a history, you know.
Every time Davis falls to the floor, there’s a hush and the arena gets so quiet, you can hear the sound of fingers crossing.
The Lakers will play every other night in this series, a pace that will further test AD’s stamina and sturdiness. As a big man, he’s a magnet to contact, especially since he’s playing against a physical opponent in Looney, and AD must soar off the floor to block shots; he had four in Game 1.
And this is the biggest factor: How much can the Lakers afford to keep him on the floor? In Game 1 he played 44 minutes, quite a ramp-up for someone who was partly load-managed during the season; Davis averaged 34 minutes and played 56 games. Can he continue anywhere near the higher pace in these playoffs and in this series now that the turnaround time between games will tighten?
“I felt good the entire game,” he said.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham suspects the way Davis and James were handled during the regular season will aid them here in the heat of the postseason.
Anthony Davis becomes the 4th player in Lakers history with 30+ points, 20+ rebounds and 5+ assists in the playoffs.
“We have to manage their loads throughout the regular season in order for us to push them a little further during this time of year,” Ham said. “Postseason, everything is at its peak. You have to pare down your rotation, and you got to push the big dogs. Your big dogs got to be there early and often.”
Davis believes the immediate road ahead in this series will be more challenging for him. Maybe he won’t get those handfuls of open looks from mid-range. He said: “They’ll make adjustments.”
Wait: The NBA right now is adjusting to big men instead of vice versa? Appears to be that way. Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic are flourishing in these playoffs and reclaiming a territory that once belonged to players like them.
Next month, the last man standing could tower over everyone else.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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