Clippers will not double team Anthony Davis and will trust Ivica Zubac to guard him 1-on-1

Published by

Peter Dewey

April 4, 2023 2:48 pm

Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue revealed that center Ivica Zubac will guard Anthony Davis one on one on Wednesday night.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Davis play the Clippers on Wednesday in what will be the second night of a back-to-back for the Lakers. Lue appears to be changing his game plan from previous matchups where the Clippers doubled Davis.

This is going to be a tough matchup for Zubac, especially with how Davis is playing as of late. Over his last three games, Davis has scored 38, 38 and 40 points, pushing his season average to 26.6 points per game.

The eight-time All-Star is one of the most dominant players in the NBA when healthy, and he’s showing it this season. Over his last 16 games, Davis is averaging 28.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game while shooting 59.0 percent from the field.

It’s possible that the Lakers’ improved supporting cast could be a reason for Lue changing his coverage on Davis.

The Lakers added a ton of shooting at the trade deadline with Malik Beasley and D’Angelo Russell, and the team is all around just a deeper squad than earlier in the season.

Davis has appeared in two of the Lakers’ three games against the Clippers this season.

In the first meeting on Oct. 20, Davis scored 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field while grabbing eight rebounds. He followed that up with a 21-point, nine-rebound game on Nov. 9.

The Lakers last played the Clippers on Jan. 24, but Davis was out of the lineup at the time with a foot injury.

Zubac, a former Laker, has the size to match up with Davis in the post, but the Lakers star may be able to attack him from off the dribble and bring him away from the basket.

This is a huge game for both teams, as the Lakers are just half a game behind the Clippers in the Western Conference standings ahead of their game on Tuesday against the Utah Jazz. If the Lakers win that game, they’d have the same record as the Clippers entering Wednesday’s tilt.

The Lakers and Clippers are scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. PST on Wednesday night.

Peter Dewey

Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.