Shaquille O'Neal believes Anthony Davis’ performance “has fell off”, asks him to step up in absence of LeBron James
Shaquille O'Neal hasn't had the nicest things to say about Anthony Davis in the past. However, his most recent comment might be the craziest one yet. What he said might've been a bit much given some of the injuries that Davis has had to deal with throughout the past few years.
“I don’t want to say this disrespectfully, but he has fell off,” O'Neal said.
The Lakers (29-32), who are trying to make a playoff push and avoid their eighth losing season in the past 10 years, will have to rely on their other star with LeBron James out indefinitely with a foot injury.
“I don’t want to say this disrespectfully, but he has fell off.”
- Shaq on AD
(h/t @RTNBA ) https://t.co/JJ3Q5ro2eQ
This isn't the first time O'Neal has said something about Davis, and it likely won't be his last. O'Neal said this in the past, according to Yahoo Sports:
“First note, let’s not get it twisted, Anthony Davis is not a big man, he’s a power forward,” O’Neal said. “So, let’s just let’s put combined big man and power forward, we can have this argument all day, every day. He’s playing great. Not being critical of him, I’m giving him the same information that Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) gave me.”
It's tough to agree with Shaquille O'Neal, given that Davis is averaging 25.7 points per game and shooting 56.4%. While he might not be playing to the same type of level that he has in the past, Davis is still an All-Star caliber player when healthy.
In the past, Davis was widely regarded as arguably a top three player in the NBA. Some even believed that he was the best in basketball. However, injuries have kept him on the sidelines to be in that contention.
Davis has played in only 36 and 40 games the past two seasons and 37 this seasons. Maybe O'Neal meant that when he said he fell off. As a player, Davis is still an incredible talent when he finds a way to stay on the court.