Lakers' Ed Davis fires back at Charles Barkley over 'fasting' comments
Lakers forward Ed Davis wasted no time going back at Charles Barkley after the TNT commentator declared last week that he would be fasting until L.A. won its first game of the season.
Less than an hour after the Lakers defeated the Hornets 107-92 at the Staples Center on Sunday, Davis took to social media to unleash his retort.
"Charles your fat a-- can eat now," Davis wrote on Twitter.
Barkley repeated multiple times during Thursday night's episode of Inside The NBA that he would be fasting until the Lakers, who lost their first five games of the season, finally prevailed. TNT included a visual graphic that juxtaposed a shrinking Barkley alongside the Lakers' upcoming schedule.
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"I'm not going to eat again until the Lakers win a game," Barkley said. "I'm telling you, I'm not gonna eat another meal until the Lakers win a game. ... I'm going to be like I'm at Guantanamo Bay. I am not going to eat until the Lakers win a game. I'm going to drink water ... [and] vodka. I've got to have my carbs and protein."
Lakers guard Jeremy Lin echoed Davis's sentiment, albeit in a more polite manner: "FINALLY!! Chuck Can Eat."
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Barkley was dubbed the "Round Mound of Rebound" during his Hall of Fame playing career. A USA Today report indicated in 2011 that Barkley has weighed as much as 350 pounds after retiring from the NBA in 2000. In recent years, he has served as a celebrity endorser for Weight Watchers and the weight loss company's website notes that Barkley's "favorite man foods" include yogurt, brussels sprouts, beans and cauliflower. Two years ago, Barkley was caught on a live microphone saying, "I'm not giving away no free money. I thought this was the greatest scam going -- getting paid to watch sports -- but this Weight Watchers thing is a bigger scam."
The Lakers, who have been beset by numerous injuries and entered Sunday's contest with the league's worst defense, beat the Hornets handily. Five Lakers players, including Davis, finished in double figures and L.A. held Charlotte to just 92 points for the first time a Lakers opponent has scored less than 108 points this season.
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L.A. has lost veteran point guard Steve Nash, rookie forward Julius Randle and sixth man Nick Young, among others, to injuries this season. The Los Angeles Times noted last week that the Lakers' 0-5 start was the worst start for the franchise in 57 years, and the ugly nature of many of the defeats led to significant local and national criticism.
"I don't really listen too much," Bryant said Sunday, according to LakersNation.com. "But, [if] a team goes 0 and 5, a lot should be made of it."
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Davis, 25, has been one of L.A's few bright spots this season. The 6-foot-10 power forward is averaging 10.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks off the bench for coach Byron Scott after signing a veteran's minimum contract this summer. A 2010 lottery pick, Davis has played for three teams in the last three seasons.
The Lakers and the Sixers were the only winless teams remaining in the NBA entering Sunday's action. Philadelphia lost to Toronto to drop to 0-7 on Sunday.
L.A opened its 2014-15 slate with a dreaded "four games in five nights" against four quality opponents. The Lakers' schedule doesn't get much easier through the end of November. Eight of their next 11 opponents advanced to the 2014 playoffs.
