National Basketball Association

Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Lakers need improvement in Game 3

Published May. 5, 2023 5:49 p.m. ET

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After the Los Angeles Lakers dropped Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals to the Golden State Warriors 127-100 yesterday, all eyes turned to the player who made the biggest impact in Game 1 — Anthony Davis. 

Davis had a historic 30/23/5 performance in Game 1, but in Game 2 only tallied 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting in 33 minutes. 

Shannon Sharpe wasn't happy with what he saw from Davis in Game 2, but he still predicts Davis will have a bounce-back performance in Game 3. 

"They can't win this series without him [Davis] being dominant," Sharpe said. "He can't be average. He can't give you 18 and 12. That's not good enough. His imprint must be indefinitely engrained in a Game 3 victory."

In Game 2, LeBron James got off to a hot start, scoring 14 points in the first quarter, but he only scored nine for the remaining three quarters. Sharpe also declared that LBJ needs to have one of his classic performances for LA to regain a series lead. 

"He's had enough of these 22-point games and five or six rebounds. It's time to get to 30. It's time to be very efficient in a 30-point outing."

James was 10-of-18 from the field and 3-of-7 from the 3-point line in LA's 27-point loss on Thursday. 

"I'm expecting Laker Nation to bring that crowd and that energy like there was in that Chase building over the last two games. I'm expecting them to show up, but I'm expecting the guys to give them something to be energized about."

Outside of James and Rui Hachimura, the Lakers supporting cast had a below-average performance, where D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Dennis Schroder, and Jarred Vanderbilt only combined for 27 points. 

Sharpe believes, and hopes the Lakers believe that it'll take more than that to beat the Warriors in Game 3. 

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