What’s the deal with Davis’ poor performances?
The Sporting Tribune's Mark Medina wonders why Anthony Davis has struggled to play well following big games this postseason.
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1. What’s the deal with Davis’ poor performances?
The Sporting Tribune's Mark Medina wonders why Anthony Davis has struggled to play well following big games this postseason.
Two days ago, the Los Angeles Lakers had a big man that played with dominance and destroyed any defender in his way. The Lakers currently have a big man that played with sluggishness and allowed circumstances to get in his way.
Yes, we’re talking about Anthony Davis, the Lakers’ star that always leaves you guessing on if he will stay healthy and how well he will play on any given night. It might be unfair for Charles Barkley to dismissively address Davis as “Street Clothes” given that injuries are mostly uncontrollable. But it is fair to view Davis as “Jekyll and Hyde,” given that his dueling identities are mostly controllable.
The Lakers labored through a 127-100 loss to the Warriors in Game 2 of their second-round series on Thursday, and most of the reasons point to Davis. He finished with 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting and seven rebounds. He collected more turnovers (four) than blocks (three) and just as many assists (four). And he had only one free-throw attempt.
What happened to the Davis that led the Lakers to a 117-112 Game 1 win over the Warriors with 30 points on 11-for-19 shooting? What happened to the Davis that punished Golden State with shots at the rim, from the block and at the free-throw line (8-for-8). What happened to the Davis that inhibited the Warriors from attacking the basket and just hoisting 3s? What happened to the Davis that blocked a late Stephen Curry floater and rebounded a late Jordan Poole miss?
2. Warriors blow out Lakers; tied series off to L.A.
The Lakers fail to take a 2-0 series lead back to Los Angeles as the Golden State Warriors take Game 2 with a dominant 127-120 win, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Rey Moralde.
Well, that was quite a response from the Golden State Warriors.
The Lakers looked as flat as some people's view of the Earth. The Dubs got their dub and dumped on the Lakers, 127-100.
I mean, I felt there was something off from the Lakers. Even when LeBron James and Rui Hachimura got the Lakers off to a first quarter lead.
But Anthony Davis looked out of it from the start. The player we saw from Game 1 was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he was fatigued after playing 44 minutes in Game 1. Draymond Green and the Warriors did prevent him from getting to his usual spots. But he didn't seem too interested in banging. I don't know anyone who would be disinterested in banging but I digress.
Either way, the Warriors attacked the paint more often. And then they started mixing their actions. Golden State outscored the Lakers in the second quarter, 41-23.
3. Golden Knights join forces with Scripps Sports on TV deal
The Golden Knights will be available for viewing on free television next season as the team announced a multi-year deal Thursday with Scripps Sports, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Steve Carp.
For their new television deal, the Vegas Golden Knights opted to go back to the future.
Thursday, the team announced it is partnering with Scripps Sports, which will provide free over-the-air telecasts of all non-network Golden Knights games — from the preseason all the way through the first round of the playoffs. The announcement was made at Circa Resort's Legacy Club in downtown Las Vegas.
Scripps Sports will air Golden Knights games on its local station KMCC-TV, Channel 34 which is currently airing programming from Ion, Scripps’ national entertainment network. Ion programming will continue to be available to Nevadans over-the-air, on pay TV and on connected TV platforms through a move to another Las Vegas broadcast channel. It will remain available for free as an over-the-air station in Las Vegas.
KMCC will be rebranded as an independent station before the 2023-24 NHL season begins. In addition to the Golden Knights games, the new KMCC will broadcast local and national news, local sports and additional entertainment programming.
4. Mega-clash looms for Dodgers-Padres
The San Diego Padres (17-15) will host the Los Angeles Dodgers (19-13) for their first matchup of the 2023 season and The Sporting Tribune’s Gabriel Santiago has you covered with this preview.
The San Diego Padres (17-15) will host the Los Angeles Dodgers (19-13) for their first matchup of the 2023 season. Naturally, this is also the first meeting of the Southern California foes since last year’s 2022 NLDS, when the Padres defeated the Dodgers in four games.
Of course, to the Dodgers’ credit, they swept San Diego out of the 2020 postseason. Additionally, Los Angeles has done well to get the better of the regular season series in recent years. But with all the current star power in both dugouts, all the feuding between public libraries and all the SoCal media limelight, 2023 will likely be the best rendition of this rivalry to date. Remember, Petco Park and Dodger Stadium sit a mere 125 miles apart.
Currently, L.A. sits atop the condensed NL West while San Diego is wedged between the Diamondbacks and Giants for third place. The Dodgers will come down to Petco this weekend as one of the hottest teams in MLB, winning their last six games consecutively. For the Friars, they have won five of their past seven games. In the series department, San Diego has bested three (Arizona, San Francisco and Cincinnati) of their past four opponents, only losing the recent series in Chicago.
5. The top 10 MVP seasons of the past 10 years in the NBA
Joel Embiid had an impressive 2022-2023 season in winning the NBA MVP, but where does he rank among the last 10 MVP campaigns? The Sporting Tribune’s Brandon Deutsch ranks them for you starting with Stephen Curry first MVP season.
I am still perplexed how Stephen Curry won the MVP for the 2014-2015 season as he only averaged 23.8 points and 7.7 assists per game, but he did have an impressive PSA of 129.3, the highest mark in the league for Point Guards that season. I know this was his first MVP award and he led the Warriors to a 67-15 record and an NBA Title, but there were more deserving players of the award that season, including LeBron James, who averaged 25.3 points, 7.4 assists, 6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game with an eFG% of 53.5, a PER of 25.9 and a PSA of 116.9, ranked in the 89th percentile for Forwards that year.
Russell Westbrook was also more deserving of the award, as he averaged 28.1 points, 8.6 assists, and 7.3 rebounds per game with the second best PER in the NBA at 29 (1st was Anthony Davis who had an incredible 30.9 PER that year for the Pelicans) and a PSA of 107.1, ranked in the 75th percentile for Point Guards that season. Compared to Curry’s following season where he also won the MVP in 2015-2016, this was an MVP season many people will forget as it was by far the weakest of the last 10 years.
6. Cejudo eyes future fights with O’Malley and Volkanovski
After a three-year layoff, Henry Cejudo is crafting a map for what’s to come if he were to win on Saturday at UFC 288, write The Sporting Tribune’s Gabriel Ornelas.
Henry Cejudo knows what he wants.
Cejudo, who is set to challenge for the bantamweight title this Saturday against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288, has not stepped into a UFC octagon since May 9, 2020 but is confident in his return and what could follow if he were to win.
“[I came back] because it’s easy money,” Cejudo said Wednesday. “ I feel really good. I love the challenge. I love that people are going to doubt me and I think that’s another reason why I’m back too. I love being the underdog like I’ve been my whole life… And I personally think Aljamain just sucks.”
Prior to retirement, Cejudo held both the UFC flyweight and bantamweight championships and is only the fourth fighter in UFC history to hold two championships simultaneously . Along with winning UFC gold, Cejudo won an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in wrestling. Cejudo, if he were to win, is looking to add some more gold to his shelf.
7. Odds and Ends presented by Circa Sports
Here are some odds at Circa Sports if you’re thinking about placing a wager today:
8. Ticket Time presented by TickPick
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets in the area if you’re thinking about going to a game today:
6:30 p.m. – Texas Rangers at Los Angeles Angels – $15
6:30 p.m. – Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres – $51
9. On the Air presented by The D Las Vegas
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today:
6:30 p.m. – Texas Rangers at Los Angeles Angels – Bally Sports West
6:30 p.m. – Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres – SportsNet LA
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
The Sporting Tribune’s Arash Markazi is joined by Brandon Deutsch, Armani Buckets and Ji Hae Wiley to discuss the Lakers and Golden State Warriors playing in a classic Western Conference semifinals series that will likely go seven games and if Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverly deserve championship rings if the Lakers win a title.
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.
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That’s it for today. Talk to you on Monday!