Anthony Davis has been a SUPERSTAR! 🤩 Stephen A. can’t dismiss the Lakers’ title hopes | First Take

Anthony Davis has been a SUPERSTAR! 🤩 Stephen A. can’t dismiss the Lakers’ title hopes | First Take

No LeBron no problem the Lakers 138 122 win over the Utah js on Wednesday was not only the team’s six win in its past seven games heading into the NBA All-Star break but it represented a declaration of identity that according to Anthony Davis ad

D not what we can be but it’s who we are I mean uh it’s game whatever and um you know we got to have our identity and we starting to establish that uh you know we going to be a fast-paced team uh know team like to get in the paint get to the

Line but then you know also know be tenacious on the defensive end so uh creating that identity um you know for what we have to be moving forward you know we can’t be coming after allar and all right what type of team are we and

Uh this is what we have to be and all that like this is who we are uh and we got to make sure that how we plan as of late the past two 3 4 weeks um you know keeping identity and carrying over to post Al interesting stuff right there oh

We’ve just look at us a little Rainbow right now hi Monica hi Brian good morning good to see you both uh Stephen A I’m gonna start with you have the Lakers found their identity um it’s hard to say because every time you say that Molly all of a

Sudden they nose dive but let’s give credit where credit is due this is a team that was in a Western Conference finals last year this year this month of February they’re 8 and two okay in this month they’re eight and two rather when Reeves haimura and Russell are in the

Starting lineup together with Anthony Davis and LeBron James so we have to pay attention to that and recognize that level of synergy that we saw them develop in the aftermath of the trading deadline last season was what propelled them to the Western Conference Finals that’s what we’re starting to see now

And so then it gives you an opportunity and a license there I say to really really fantasize Anthony Davis has been a superstar there is no way around it this brother shows up night in night out you know I called him Six Flags simply because he was hurt you know and you

Never knew when he was going to play every other game it was just up and down up and down that has not been the case this year he has shown up he is a worthy dude for the allstar I actually had him as as a starter in the allstar game

Because I think he’s been that phenomenal um and he if he continues to play like this if hachimura Russell and re do what they’re capable of doing all of whom by the way are averaging 20 points and five assists this month all four of them LeBron ad D’Angelo Russell

And Austin Reeves are all averaging 20 points and five assist a game at least they continue to do that then that is their identity and if that’s their identity we can’t sarily dismiss their Championship aspirations they won’t be anybody’s favorite but we can’t dismiss them and the threat that they are

Because because of the greatness of LeBron coupled by the greatness of Anthony Davis St I agree you do not close the door on LeBron James and Anthony Davis is absolutely having an All-Star caliber year 25 and 12 he’s been on the floor which is huge but on the graphic we have

On the bottom here guys six and one in the last seven games y’all know who that one is to it is the Denver Nuggets and that’s no shade because the Denver Nuggets are the reigning Champs in the championship caliber team and so while I do appreciate ad acknowledging what this

Team needs to do to be successful it is going to be so imperative that they do it at an extremely high level to get into that upper echelon do I think that this is a team that can possibly move out of that play in I’m not ruling it out they could

End up six before it’s all said and done do I think that this is a top four team and based on what we’ve seen in the first half of the Season no and so I think understanding how they need to play it takes a little bit of time they’ve

Landed on it now I still have questions on whether or not they can maintain that consistency because even as we’re excited about last nice game I think ruy hore is a tremendous piece but what he put up 36 like there’s some outlier things that have happened and

Honestly this it’s been a little bit of a tinkering when LeBron James is on the floor not that you don’t want him on the floor um but I think last night was one of those opportunities where guys just felt free cuz LeBron wasn’t available and so I still think that they are

Putting it all together Stephen A a month ago if I’d have compared this team to the showtime Lakers you would have kicked me off the show you’d have said get to the door don’t come back until you get right in the head but I’m here

To tell you that over this last 11 games they have had the best offensive run since 1987 and I realize that we are in an era where it’s fastpaced but the point is that this Lakers offense which was is really their big problem has been supercharged they are averaging 126

Points in that span they are third in offense they are hitting the second or their second and three-point shooting this is one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league for the first half of the season so we are definitely in a stretch here so you look

At why is that happening how has that happened the first answer is D’Angelo Russell D’Angelo Russell moved into the starting lineup about 15 games ago actually was a game in Utah sort of he in between these two Utah games and he is just flat up awesome you know the

Lakers have been looking for sort of another major contributor that’s what they were sniffing around on in January at the trade deadline and they got it here now he now whether or not he is famous in his career for going up and down he’s been an All-Star he’s been

He’s been benched and so I have no idea where this is going to continue but his influx of offense has Li lifted the Lakers and given them a margin for air but the second thing and I think the most important thing is that they are now playing bigger with haimura in the

Lineup they have that huge front line when LeBron plays and playing big is so important in the Western Conference because the Thunder as good as they are struggle with size the Warriors struggle with size the Clippers even at times struggle with size and if you’re going to go against the Nuggets or you’re

Going to go against the Wolves you have to play with size so Darvin ham going to this lineup number one getting Austin Reeves and and Russell to be playing well together but also getting effective play from their biggest guys is giving them at least a chance going forward you

Got the Lakers is the second you know second best in offensive rating behind only the Celtics and best assisted turnover ratio in the league for the month of February we get that we understand how impressive that is but we do have to take into account when you bring up historical comparisons Wendy

This ain’t 1987 this ain’t 1980 this ain’t even 1995 times have changed significantly particularly as as it pertains to the style of play in the NBA the league has fostered more offense and so we have to take that with a grain of salt and cap and and cap it like that

Having said all of that I do think that the measuring stick is the reigning defending NBA champions and you know all we have to point to is what we see from the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference yet are the best team in the NBA right now best record etc etc got at

Least a six-game lead on the Cleveland Cavaliers but let’s rewind the clock to last year most of us walking into that Miami series against Boston not only had Boston likely winning the series we were praying they would because we suspected Denver would win and we knew that Miami

Was just too small and wasn’t going to be a good enough matchup for Denver because they were just too undersized in the case of the Boston Celtics we didn’t feel that way and so when you think about it from that standpoint now you look at the Lakers you look at the size

That they have the size that they’re capable of putting on the front Court we’ve been raving about the clippers for weeks now because the Clippers are an offensive juggernut and we get that but size could potentially be an issue for them and if size and is an issue for

Them we’re not going to want that problem we’re going to want to see a team that’s going up against the Denver Nuggets that legitimately have a shot to beat them we question the Minnesota timber Wars because we think they’re too young but we know they have size we know

The Lakers have size but are they too old you see what I’m saying so you just wonder about it from that standpoint and that’s where you are uh but I’m hopeful that this is this is a sign of times to come for the Los Angeles Lakers because

If it is they could make another run to the Conference Finals yeah um Monica I think your room service is ready if you want to get that I think you’re I think your omelet I heard your omelette and your pancakes are right outside the door

If you want to go get it I no pancakes Molly but omelet yes I got a quick take for Stephen A I know you’re on your I knew it was a food order emem you can you can go take that call uh okay quick take let’s get it Stephen a uh check on

This full court pregame shot from Steph Curry all right I need to just watch this too unreal but Stephen A does this even surprise you from him anymore cuz he’s just so ridiculous nothing involving shooting surprises me from Steph Curry I’ve been in attendance back in the day at the

Oracle where I saw this brother pull up from the tunnel and literally make shots it’s what he does and so to me I I’ve religiously stated he’s the greatest shooter God has ever created there is no distance there is no angle he can’t shoot from and make shots that normal

Humans simply can’t make he’s just that special as a shooter as a marksman yeah that looks like the Clippers were the better Shooters last Night

Anthony Davis has been a SUPERSTAR! 🤩 Stephen A. can’t dismiss the Lakers’ title hopes | First Take
Stephen A. Smith, Monica McNutt and Brian Windhorst join Molly Qerim on First Take to decide whether the Los Angeles Lakers have found their identity as a championship-contending team.
#ESPN #NBA #FirstTake

✔️Subscribe to ESPN+ http://espnplus.com/youtube
✔️ Get the ESPN App: http://www.espn.com/espn/apps/espn
✔️Subscribe to ESPN on YouTube: http://es.pn/SUBSCRIBEtoYOUTUBE
✔️ Subscribe to NBA on ESPN on YouTube: http://bit.ly/SUBSCRIBEtoNBAonESPN
✔️ Watch ESPN on YouTube TV: http://es.pn/YouTubeTV