Portland Trail Blazers: 3 takeaways from Game 1 vs. Pelicans
By Ty Delbridge
3. Blazers couldn’€™t stop Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis finished game one 35 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. He was aggressive when attacking the rim and has an excellent shooting touch when he has any space in the mid-range.
The Pelicans ran pick-and-rolls with Davis all night and Rip City did not have an answer. Davis was too explosive and quick to be guarded by Nurkic or Ed Davis, and he was too big and strong to be defended by Zach Collins or Al-Farouq Aminu.
On the defensive end, Davis was defending the paint and made the Blazers think twice about putting a shot up near him. He clogged up the lane and was contesting every shot they attempted.
When the Blazers tired to run pick-and-rolls, Davis would help play defense on the ball-handler and was athletic enough to get back and defend the rolling man. He caused all sorts of problems for Portland on both ends of the floor.
Davis has been one of the top players in the NBA all season, and now that his team is in the playoffs, he is turning up his intensity. If Davis continues to play like this, it’s going to be a long series for the Blazers.
They have no answer for him, and that’s just going to open up more shots for his teammates, The Pelicans surround Davis with shooters, and as soon as the Blazers send help toward him, he kicks the ball out to an open teammate for a 3-point shot. This could be a major problem in this first round matchup.