Joel Embiid is announced as the MVP (from the Philadelphia Sixers' Twitter page)
Jordan Paul felt hot in Game 1 against the Lakers.
With 10 seconds left, with Golden State trailing by 3 points, the Warriors' scorer received the ball when he was very far from the three-point arc - and shot without hesitation.
The ball went out, the Warriors lost 117:112 on the way to a surprising 1:0 deficit in the Western Conference semifinals, and from here developed a fundamental debate about NBA basketball in 2023: was the shot that Paul took from a great distance, at a critical moment, crazy or necessary?
Opinions were divided between past and present players.
"I don't like that shot. Not at all," commented Charles Barkley on a TNT panel.
Isaiah Thomas tweeted: "Why throw from such a distance?", and Channing Frye reacted with shock.
"There's no way he took that shot. Do you know why he threw it? Because of all the analytics bullshit. Did you see how far he was from the basket? He has a fucking 10 seconds on the clock," said Frye, ex-Cleveland, who won a championship with the Cubs in 2016. .
On the other hand, in the panel in which Fry participated, Indiana star Tyrese Halliburton sat next to him, and raised the possibility that it was actually a good shot, despite its high level of difficulty.
"He's standing free, aligned to the basket, when his team needs a three-pointer to tie. I would also throw in that situation," Halliburton said, and Golden State also tried to justify Paul, who scored 21 points in the game, including 6 three-pointers.
"I had a timeout I could have taken, but I saw them double guard Steph on the halfway line, so I knew someone would be completely free," recalled Steve Kerr.
"Jordan was completely free and got a pretty good look, it's a shot he's capable of scoring, I'm happy with this position. Jordan had already scored 6 three-pointers up to that point, so for me it was an excellent shot for us."
Draymond Green also defended Paul and said that "these are shots that we are encouraged to take, especially when it comes to our scorers. He has to take that shot. I trust him to score it next time, and to be much better in this series compared to the series against Sacramento."
gone too far?
Jordan Paul against LeBron (Photo: GettyImages, Ezra Shaw)
But even Jordan Paul's controversial move failed to distract attention from the game's big story: the explosion of Anthony Davis.
The injured big man, who has suffered from ups and downs in recent years, was at his peak with a monstrous performance on both sides of the court.
He finished with 30 points, 23 rebounds, 5 assists and also 4 blocks.
By comparison, only Tim Duncan had previously posted similar numbers in a playoff game.
"He had monstrous displays even when he played in New Orleans, but that was in the past. Today he did exactly what I expected him to do, just play like one of the five best players in the world. That's what he is," Lakers coach Darwin Hamm praised him.
LeBron James recorded his own diverse statistical line with 22 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks, but gave full credit to Davis at the end.
"Throughout every second of the Lakers' existence, it has always had dominant big men, dominant players who dominated under the baskets. That's why their jerseys hang on the roof of the hall. AD is on his way there. His jersey will also hang on the roof when he finishes his career," explained LeBron.
"No. 3 will be up there. He continues to show why he's one of the best players in the league, and for us that's such a big plus...We have such a dynamic player who is not only capable of putting up 30 points and 20 rebounds, but also absolutely seals the paint on defense , and to all this he also adds 5 assists. It's tremendous."
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"All he needs is motivation."
Davis (Photo: Reuters)
According to Charles Barkley, Davis will be the key player in the series.
"There's nothing the Warriors can do against him. Looney is too slow, he doesn't have the legs to guard AD, and Draymond is too short. If AD is motivated enough, he can play like that every game in this series. He's not going to shrink, Looney won't become fast More, Draymond won't back up...this series will be decided by AD."
The Lakers were also encouraged by the solutions they found in defending the Warriors' guards.
Steph Curry did finish with 27 points and Klay Thompson scored 25, but Jared Vanderbilt and Dennis Schroeder provided very good defense, especially on Curry, for most of the game.
If before the start of the series the commentators estimated that the Lakers would have no answers for Curry, the first game showed otherwise.
"We managed to make it difficult for Steph, and that was a key on the way to victory," analyzed Darwin Hamm.
"Jared did an excellent job on him, and in the second half it was Dennis's turn, who also did a great job on both sides of the field. We are happy to have him, he is a player who is not afraid of the big moments, and is not appreciated enough in defense."
The commentators thought he would be unstoppable in the series.
The first game gave food for thought.
Kerry (Photo: Reuters)
Schroeder himself admitted with a smile at the end: "Steph's physical fitness is something unbelievable. It's almost impossible. He runs non-stop for 23 seconds, and he still has the energy and concentration to release a shot at the last second. After these games against him, I think I'll have to get an infusion blood".
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NBA
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Los Angeles Lakers
Golden State Warriors
Anthony Davis