“If Anthony Davis shows up,” Stephen Smith wants the Lakers superstar to perform big if his team reaches the NBA Finals this season

NBA Analyst Stephen A. Smith last season begged Anthony Davis to play up to his potential for the Los Angeles Lakers to beat the Denver Nuggets so that he doesn’t have to travel to the Mile High City for the NBA finals being a New York Knicks fan. However, that didn’t happen as the Nuggets won their first NBA Championship in their franchise history.

This season Smith is far more confident with the off-season movements that plenty of other teams could beat Denver. He fancies the chances for Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and even the Phoenix Suns according to him can beat the Nuggets. He believes that the Lakers also do have a chance but he feels that Davis needs to show up for that to happen.

“This year, it’s different. Milwaukee could beat Denver. Boston could beat Denver. Phoenix got a chance to beat them, too. The Lakers got a shot to beat them too, as far as I’m concerned, if Anthony Davis shows up and plays like that man-child he’s capable of being,” Smith stated.

He highlighted how Anthony Davis can be a handful when he gets in his groove. But his primary concern with the Lakers big man is his fitness and lack of availability in many matches every season.

“The brother averaged 25 [points] and 12 [rebounds] with two blocks per game on 56% shooting. The brother once averaged 28 and 12 for a season. … The problem is that Anthony Davis misses too many damn games. And even in games he does show up in, he’s a roller coaster. It drives me nuts,” Smith added.

With the way Davis played against the Nuggets in the season opener, there are possibilities that Smith may have to return to Mile High City again for the finals. Davis showed up in the first half with 17 points, one assist and one steal.

However, Davis disappeared in the second half. He didn’t score in the rest of the match as the Nuggets defeated the Lakers with relative ease to start their campaign on a high.