“What top 75 anniversary guy gets one rebound?”: Shannon Sharpe fires away at Anthony Davis for dismal 1st half in OT loss to Kings
Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Sacramento Kings in an overtime thriller on October 29 with a final score of 132-127. After the loss, sports analyst and former NFL tight end Shannon Sharpe fired AD for his horrible first-half performance.
Davis scored 30 points against the Kings, shooting 11 of 22 shots from the field. He played 42 minutes in the overtime loss while registering 16 rebounds and three blocks.
Sharpe said he wouldn’t question the money that Davis gets because of his big contract. However, he mocked that a player who was included in the 75th Anniversary team should do much better.
"What top 75 Anniversary guy can give his team one rebound in the first half and zero points in the second half and escape criticism? If Jaxson Hayes gave me that statline, I don't bat an eye. But that's Anthony Davis!," Sharpe said.
AD has come under heavy criticism after his horrible performance against the Nuggets. He grabbed one rebound in the first half and went scoreless in the second half. He also shot 6 of 17 from the field while missing all his shots in the second half. However, Davis has been himself on the defensive end, blocking 2.7 per game.
Paul Pierce slams Anthony Davis for not taking the challenge against Jokic
On Lakers Media Day, Davis openly addressed the trash talk by the Nuggets in the playoffs last season and said he was ready to face the defending champs.
However, Davis had a poor game against the reigning champions. He scored 17 points and couldn't score a point in the second half.
On the recent episode of KG Certified, former NBA champion Paul Pierce slammed Davis for not rising to the occasion.
"It might be that Joker effect. I don't know. Joker is the most dominant player... [Jokic] took the challenge of, 'I'm matched up with Anthony Davis.' Anthony Davis did not take the challenge of, 'I'm matching up with Joker.' Period," Pierce said.
However, these are still early days and if healthy there's no better player in the league who can take one-on-one Anthony Davis.