Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Lessons in a playoff opening beating by the Suns
By Ronald Agers
Anthony Davis started slowly for the Los Angeles Lakers for the second straight game! This time he wasn’t a factor!
Anthony Davis probably had one his worst games in a Laker uniform in Game 1. After the game, he said all of the right things via ESPN.
"“There’s no way we’re winning a game, let alone a series, with me playing the way that I played, “So, I mean, this is on me. I take full responsibility, for sure. We’ll be better Game 2.”"
No…Anthony Davis needs to be better in Game 2. For the second time in as many games, AD started very slow out of the gate offensively. In the Warriors game, he got rolling with easy transition baskets off of turnovers. Phoenix took better care of the ball and Ayton did his part in the half-court by getting in Davis’ airspace on jump shots, keeping him off the glass, and keeping him off the free-throw line.
Lake Show Life continues its analysis to Davis’ offensive success to being aggressive early looking for his offense. AD mentioned his Game 1 actions…or lack thereof on the early lead the Lakers got in the first quarter.
"“Usually I come out the gates very dominant, and I think tonight, or today, we had it going,” Davis explained. “So, I kind of just got lost in the offense. But I still have to be assertive and find ways to get the ball. “It just kind of took me out of rhythm, but that’s on me. I still got to find ways to make plays on that end of the floor, offensively."
Wasn’t this the guy that just dropped 42 points and 12 rebounds against Phoenix just two weeks ago?
The next potential roster decision for Frank Vogel going forward will be if Andre Drummond’s presence is part of the problem. Despite evidence that the Lakers play a lot better with AD at the five spot especially in transition, Vogel went to that less on Sunday than during Wednesday’s play-in game.
Now that the stars have been taken care of, it’s time to look at the rest of the roster. Despite the narratives floating around the Lakers the next day or so, there’s only one real storyline that matters in Game 1. Read on to see what it is!