Charles Barkley says the Warriors have no answer for Anthony Davis - "There's nothing they can do about it"
It goes without saying that Anthony Davis dominated against the Golden State Warriors in Game 1. However, TNT analyst Charles Barkley is of the opinion that the Warriors won't be able to stop the Lakers' big man from doing the same going forward.
The Lakers came away with an impressive 117-112 win in Game 1 on the road behind Anthony Davis' stellar performance. With the Lakers superstar notching 30 points, 23 rebounds and four blocks for the night, the purple and gold were placed in a solid position to steal the game.
Davis is known to have performances like this. Although his outings against the Memphis Grizzlies were fairly inconsistent, Davis, on his day, looked like one of the best players on the court.
A performance of this caliber will undoubtedly be the key to the Lakers' success in this series. Former NBA player Charles Barkey also reiterated this point on 'Inside the NBA' while discussing what the Warrior's strategy to contain AD could be.
He said:
"There's nothing they (Warriors) can do about it. Looney is too slow of foot, Draymond's too little. I said it before the game and I said it at halftime. It's going to come down to Golden State making enough threes to offset it."
Chuck placed an emphasis on AD's direct matchups against Looney and Green. With both Warriors players having weaknesses that could be exploited by Davis, Barkley added by saying:
"If he's motivated, he's going to get this every game. If he's motivated, alright? Because he ain't going to shrink. Looney is not going to get faster in two days. Draymond is not going to grow."
“If he’s motivated, he’s gonna get this every game.”
Chuck on AD's Game 1 performance vs. Warriors https://t.co/3YQ3txY1A4
Read: "We just gotta stay locked in" - Austin Reaves reveals Lakers’ defensive strategy to shutdown Steph Curry and the Warriors
Anthony Davis will need to be consistent
Anthony Davis' performance in Game 1 set the template for the LA Lakers' success in the series. Although the big man was forced to play heavy minutes to contain Golden State's offense, Davis shut down the paint for the Warriors.
His defensive impact forced the Dubs to shoot almost 50% of their shots from behind the three-point line. Although this favors Golden State in some ways, it helped the Lakers when the time called for it.
A motivated Davis is one of the most dangerous players on the floor. It goes without saying that the Lakers will need to see this same consistency from their big man in the upcoming games.
Anthony Davis tonight:
30 PTS
23 REBS
5 ASTS
4 BLKS
11-for-19 FG (57.8%)
Pure dominance from AD!
https://t.co/LkJUnSWhfG