Lakers star Anthony Davis on rival Steph Curry: ‘As long as he’s on the other side, it’s not over’

This Lakers vs. Warriors matchup for the Western Conference’s semifinals isn’t the first rodeo between Anthony Davis and Steph Curry, as they’ve faced each other many times in past playoffs. Even though Davis dominated Game 1 with a huge double-double performance, he’s everything but confident about winning this series. 

The Los Angeles big man knows that while his rival star is around, you can never take your chances. “As long as he’s on the other side, it’s not over,” Davis told the press this Wednesday.

"As long as he's on the other side, it's never over."

AD addresses what he has learned during his playoff battles with Steph pic.twitter.com/3HGEyqeZ2O

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 4, 2023

Both players have shared the same court during 9 postseason games against each other, 8 of them being back when Davis represented the New Orleans Pelicans. With this Tuesday’s victory, the Lakers center is now 2-7 against Curry in playoff games.

It seems Davis still has nightmares over his first two postseason experiences against Golden State, as Curry’s squad eliminated the team from Louisiana the first time in 2015 with four-straight defeats.

“I remember we were up 20 in New Orleans … [Curry] went on a run, the whole team obviously, but he’s the head of the snake, and when he’s playing unbelievable basketball, which he’s more than capable of doing every night, their team just never goes away,” Davis recalled.

“It goes back to us having to be ultra dialed in and locked in for Game 2, knowing that he’s going to come out firing. Klay [Thompson], all those guys play better, team’s going to play better, crowd’s going to be even louder.

“As long as Steph’s on the other side, on the other team, he always gives their team a chance to win.”

Anthony Davis’ presence forcing Golden State into huge Kevon Looney dilemma

Even though Warriors’ Kevon Looney won 23 rebounds in his team’s 117-112 loss in Game 1 against the Lakers, it seems this hasn’t been entirely seen as “good news” in the Bay Area camp, especially considering he was outpowered by his opponent center Anthony Davis.

Not only did the Los Angeles big man also grab 23 rebounds this past Tuesday night, Looney was not seen making any attempts to join his teammates to attack the purple and gold from the deep.

Check out the Lakers star recent display, as he joined Tim Duncan as the only players in NBA Playoff history to record 30+ points, 20+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 4+ blocks:

“We faced the same issues last year in the playoffs against Memphis and in Boston and you make adjustments as you see fit,” coach Steve Kerr explained. “That might mean going smaller, getting a shooter on the floor. But time and score can dictate some of that.

“Every game is so different, so you just have to go in with an open mind and feel the game. Because of the nature of our roster and the makeup of our roster, it’s a decision we’ve had to make many times over the years.”

Golden State’s Draymond Green acknowledges that Looney’s strategy used to work in their favor. “That’s always been an advantage for us,” he said. “But we’re not just taking Kevon Looney out of the lineup. He’s been incredible. That’s not on him. If anything, it’s on me.

“We have some of that. I’m sure we’ll see some of that.”