Before this season, a member of the Lakers hadn’t dropped 20 points and had 20 rebounds in the same game since Shaquille O’Neal in 2004. Both Lebron James and Anthony Davis have achieved that once this postseason. Anthony Davis is the first member of the Lakers since Shaq to reach 30 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game.
Last night, the Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors 117-112 in game 1 of the Western Conference semi-finals led by a historic performance from Anthony Davis. Davis dropped 30 points, 23 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks. He joins Tim Duncan as the only players to reach these stats in a playoff game.
After starting the season 2-10, the Lakers have extraordinarily recovered and have become a legit contender for this year’s NBA Championship. It hasn’t just been AD and Lebron: Dennis Schroder, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Jarrad Vanderbilt have all been heavy contributors defensively and have made plays at the right times for the Lakers.
In Game 1, we saw the Lakers attempt 29 free throws while the Warriors only attempted 6. As well, the Lakers starters racked up the blocks, combining for 10. Timely defensive stops and attacking the basket have been what the Lakers have excelled at in these playoffs. With Lebron’s greatness and AD’s pure dominance, the sky is the limit for this team.
According to Vegas Insider, the Lakers are the third most likely team to win the NBA championship. If there’s ever going to be a year where a 7th seed is going to win the Championship, it might very well be this year’s Los Angeles Lakers.
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