More often than not in the last several weeks, Los Angeles Lakers superstar big man Anthony Davis has played up to expectations, if not beyond them.
So far in the playoffs, he has had three games with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds, and he exploded for 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots in his team’s Game 1 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.
But every few games, Davis had played well below expectations, and although it hasn’t been a regular occurrence, it has happened enough to give his critics plenty to get on him about.
On Thursday in Game 2, it happened again.
Against Draymond Green, who guarded him for much of the contest, Davis scored just 11 points while getting up only 11 shot attempts and shooting just one free throw. While he missed a good number of makable chippies, he simply did not attack the way he usually does.
He was a big reason the Lakers lost by 27 points and are now facing a tied series heading home for the next two contests.
Davis’ critics engage in plenty of hyperbole while acting like the big man is nothing more than a malingerer who is always looking for an excuse or a way out. While that is likely not true, every time Davis has a poor game as he did on Thursday, it gives such criticisms at least the appearance of validity.
A little bit of the onus is on his teammates to help get him going, since he is a big man who needs the ball fed to him. They need to run some plays for him early in Game 3 to get him easy looks near the rim in order to get his head into the game. Traditionally, when Davis is attacking the rim and scoring buckets early, he tends to have a great game.
But ultimately, it’s up to him to not make his critics seem right. He is one of the best players in the game and a surefire Hall of Famer, and he needs to play up to that level more consistently.
With the Lakers holding a golden opportunity to play for the NBA championship this summer, Davis needs to seize this opportunity and prove that his dominant performance in the 2020 bubble when they won it all was no fluke.
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Story originally appeared on LeBron Wire
