Alexander: Wheelchair for Lakers' Davis restored some memories

- Those Laker fans with long memories, given the events of Wednesday night in San Francisco, may want to go easy on Paul Pierce these days.

Keep in mind Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals, when the Boston Celtics' Pierce was wheeled to the locker room in a wheelchair in the 3rd quarter after he collided with Kendrick Perkins and went down clutching his knee? Pierce got all sort of sorrow in the consequences, though a few of that was due to the fact that whatever was ailing him-- and there were numerous descriptions of why Pierce rode to the locker space in the first location-- didn't avoid him from running back onto the court minutes later on.

All these years later on the topic still turns up occasionally, though you 'd have to state Pierce and his colleagues had the last laugh by hanging their 17th (and newest) banner. ……. - Flash forward to this previous Wednesday night, when Anthony Davis was whacked in the side of the head by an unintentional Kevon Looney elbow and staggered off the court, again in the 3rd quarter. After being tended to on the bench, holding his head most of the while, Davis was conveyed down the tunnel in a wheelchair when he appeared like he might be too unstable to walk. …….'Here ' s the play. https://t.co/P0O4v6FCfW.

—-- Jim_Alexander (@Jim_Alexander) May 11, 2023.

- Davis was fine Friday night, and his 17 points, 20 rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals, along with LeBron James' 30 pointsm 9 assists and nine rebounds, helped the Lakers end Golden State's season and advance to a conference finals match with Denver, 122-101. The guy who was trending from coast to coast was Austin Reaves, who transported Jerry West by swishing a 54-foot shot to end the very first half and ended up with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.

The fan invited to take a half-court shot for a prize midway through the third quarter missed his heave. So possibly Reaves must have gotten his jackpot. Or, even better, a multi-year contract with a healthy raise, right on the area. Memo to Rob Pelinka: He's earned it. ……. - Given the already existing narrative about Davis' schedule and consistency-- Bay Area media members started recommending previously in this series that A.D. actuallly represented "Alternate Day"-- I think we know the turn the nationwide conversation took, as my coworker Mirjam Swanson described in Friday's paper, even if you hadn't heard the jokes and laughs from specific pundits. Just remember this description: Cruelty as entertainment. It'll inform you all you require to understand. ……. - Interestingly, one of those who objected to the laughter and reject over what might quickly have been a concussion was the Warriors' Draymond Green, who kept in mind on his podcast, "Just don't play with those head injuries, guy. They are severe. I saw a lot of individuals talking and laughing-- however it's a hit to the head. And one small hit to the head can alter whatever in your life.

" So I do not truly comprehend the joke. I do not understand it at all. Each time you step on the basketball court, the football field, on the ice, on the pitch, you're risking your life since an injury can alter whatever.

…. - Just envision, by the method, what some old-school coaches' responses may have been to the idea that one of their gamers is podcasting during a playoff series.

And when it comes to Steve Kerr, Green's own coach?

" It's 2023," he stated prior to Friday night's video game.

And those were the days where if somebody's phone went off, the coach would toss the phone at the wall. I believe when Magic coached the Lakers, if somebody's beeper went off, he threw the beeper at the wall.

…. - As a player/podcaster, I guess Green might be thought about a competitor to those of us in the media seats. -" Alternate day, "in another sense, might be the story of this series.

" Just their normal body prep, and a great deal of things we've been getting done through movie and walkthroughs," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. "And, you understand, the most significant thing at this moment of the year, betting the type of challengers we're playing against, being able to recover and have as much energy as possible is the leading concern in every situation. I'm sure every other group that's still playing today will tell you the very same thing.

And now it's simply about being all set to respond and check out and adjust if need be and stick to the things are going well and try to see how you can repair the things you're not doing so well. ….

- He didn't point out effort, energy and seriousness to us. I'm sure his players do not require to be reminded, since that's been Ham's mantra throughout the playoffs, and undoubtedly prior to that, too.

jalexander@scng.com.