Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis took the blame for his poor performance in the team’s loss to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.
Davis, who finished the game with just nine points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field, turned the ball over five times in the loss.
“I just played bad,” Davis said. “I’m not going to put it on anything. … It was just missed shots. I just played like s— tonight. It’s that simple.”
Wednesday’s loss was arguably Davis’ worst game of the season, as he tied his season-low mark in points (nine points against the Miami Heat on Nov. 6). The difference is that Davis was injured in the Miami game and only played 24:50. He played over 34 minutes on Wednesday against the Kings.
The Lakers certainly need more out of Davis if they’re going to compete with some of the best teams in the West, but it’s good to see the team’s star big man taking responsibility for his poor play.
Davis did make an impact on the defensive end of the floor, blocking four shots and grabbing nine total rebounds, but he was thoroughly outplayed by Kings star Domantas Sabonis.
Sabonis finished the game with 29 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and a block while shooting an impressive 13-of-19 from the field. He posted a plus/minus of plus-20.
Davis, on the other hand, posted a plus/minus of minus-13 in the team’s 15-point loss.
After the game, Davis talked about the challenge of playing the second game of a back-to-back with the same injury that he has been dealing with since the Miami game.
“I’m still treating it every day,” Davis said. “Obviously, you don’t get that day to really attack it with the back-to-back. But it is what it is. I suit up, I will play. I got to be more effective. Obviously, it was still bothering me a little bit, but I still got to go out there and do my job.”
Even though he had a down game against the Kings, Davis has still been an extremely important player for the Lakers this season. He’s averaging 22.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while leading the league with 3.4 blocks per game.
The Lakers may want to find more ways to get Davis involved on offense (since he took just nine shots against the Kings) when they take on the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. Davis confirmed to reporters after Wednesday’s game that he plans to play in that matchup.
“I’ll be fine,” Davis said. “Yeah, I’ll play. For sure.”
The Lakers and Blazers are scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. PST from Moda Center on Friday night.
