The Los Angeles Lakers couldnāt handle the Phoenix Sunsāphysicality in Game 1 of the series. Thatās surprising, given theyāre one of the toughest and stronger teams in the NBA, especially in the paint.
The Suns clearly heard all the noise. They knew that people didnāt trust him to take down the defending champions, even in front of their crowd and after winning 51 games on a 72-game season.
Thatās why Deandre Ayton and company were so inspired from the jump ball, bodying LeBron James and Anthony Davis and completely outplaying the Lakersā veterans en route to a 99-90 win.
Anthony Davis Took The Blame For Game 1 Loss
Anthony Davis recently admitted that the loss was mostly on him. He scored 13 points (on 31% from the floor) with just 7 rebounds and just wasnāt aggressive enough. He settled for tough, contested jumpers and never stood a chance on the glass against Ayton:
āUsually, I come out the gates very dominant. I think today, we had it going. āBron hit a couple threes, we get into the paint, Drum,ā Davis said after the game. āSo I kind of just got lost in the offense. But I still have to be assertive, find ways to get the ball. It just kind of took me out of rhythm. But itās on me. I still gotta find a way to make plays on that end of the floor.Like I say: itās on me. Iām not too worried about my performance. I know Iāll be better, I know weāll be better in Game 2.ā
Davis Say They Canāt Beat The Suns With Him Playing Like That
While Davis seems unworried about his teamās chances going forward, his recent words didnāt do much to soothe his fans, as he just admitted that theyāre not going to win the series unless he steps up:
āNo way weāre winning a game, let alone a series, with me playing the way I played. This one is on me,ā the former Pelicans star told the media ahead of the second game of the series, as quoted byFadeaway World.
Anthony Davis isnāt the kind of player thatās on a slump for long. Then again, heās been far from himself this season and itās not like thereās much time to get it together, as a couple of bad games can send you home in the playoffs.
