The Los Angeles Lakers have been a team to watch since February, ever since the trade deadline approached on February 15. The team welcomed some newcomers who completely changed the way the Lakers played in the season. New players have been as crucial as the dynamic duo LeBron James and Anthony Davis. However, the team has now come to a position where it can not afford any slip-ups if they are aiming for the championship. And the team they will face next has proven all season long but might show struggle against the purple and gold.
The clash between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Lakers will be the start of LeBron’s first playoff campaign since 2021. The 38-year-old superstar never missed a playoff in his entire career except for last year. And then and there, he tweeted that he would not like to miss another playoff in the future. Although nobody knows how many are there after this season, he does not want to miss any. Meanwhile, the experts believe that it will be a good contest seeing Anthony Davis and Ja Morant against each other.
ESPN Analyst Has More Faith In Ja Morant
There are some incredible performances that the purple and gold brigade has delivered in the last two months. And the driving force behind this incredible push has been their best presence, Anthony Davis. He has been phenomenal in helping the Lakers reach the seventh seed in much-needed time. Otherwise, LA would have been out of the league before they even got any chance to put themselves in the playoffs. On the one hand, it has been very lucky that they made the changes in February. On the other hand, Davis’ sheer dominance brought them closer to their goals.
Meanwhile, ESPN analyst Steven A. Smith believes that Ja Morant will be better than Anthony Davis in the playoffs series. Although it is debatable, the two of them have played very crucially for their team during the season. If Davis is held accountable for LA’s success, then Morant is also responsible for bringing Grizzlies on the second seed. But Smith believes that Morant is more of a team player who brings the team alive with his mere presence.
.@stephenasmith says he trusts Ja Morant MORE than Anthony Davis in the Grizzlies-Lakers series 👀 pic.twitter.com/PLGuWRIoj9
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 14, 2023
Lakers Big Man Davis With Big Responsibility
According to Smith of ESPN, Morant is more trustworthy than Anthony. He has proven to be more consistent over the period of time. However, Steven also said that he does not take anything away from the eight-time All-star either. He also considered that Davis has more chance to nail the coffin with Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke both out for Memphis.
But the analyst remains stubborn in his words that Ja Morant will have more impact on the game. In his words, he said, “I’m not saying that Anthony Davis is not gonna have a big-time series.” However, Smith asserted that “if it’s Anthony Davis or Ja Morant, I’mma pick Ja Morant.”