Lakers: Anthony Davis Is Not Soft
After the Lakers overtime victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night, it was reported that Anthony Davis went and vomited after his post game press conference. It could be seen in Davis' post game press conference when he spoke with Lakers reporter Mike Trudell.
When asked how the last few days had been for Davis, he was very blunt.
"Lot of sleep. A lot of fluids. Trying to eat a little bit. The Portland game was rough. Yeah, I mean four times before the game and then once when I didn't come back. Just had no energy. Even did it one time tonight at the end of the 3rd.."
Everyone knows about Michael Jordan's flu game, which he corrected to be food poisoning. Davis has played big minutes fighting either some kind of bug or infection.
Over the course of his career, Davis has built an unfortunate reputation for being injury prone. Whether it's his unfortunate "Day To Davis" nickname, or Charles Barkley referring to him as "street clothes," Davis has a reputation for injury, and often being called soft. He does fall a lot. That is what it is. The result of falling a lot often overlooks the cause. Davis plays 100% every time he is on the court. He isn't built as solid as a Nikola Jokic or Shaquille O'Neal. After seeing Davis' effort the last few nights, Davis' reputation should be put to bed. His teammate, Carmelo Anthony agrees.
“Maybe you guys write that and question that but I’m around him, I know what type of player he is, I know what type of person he is. It’s a lot on him. He is one of the leaders of this team.. I didn’t know he threw up. But for him to do that and still come back and help us get this wine and get this victory that just says a lot about him. I think a lot of times we find a narrative and try to stick to it when it comes to athletes I know he’s not soft. I know he’s tough. If he’s out there he can play, he’s going to play so that’s the only thing that matters."
Anthony going to bat for his teammate is nothing new or surprising. It's just worth nothing. Sometimes players who get injured often just get injured from bad luck. It's more fun for people to throw sweeping narratives about 'softness' and 'toughness,' but the world is full of dumb luck.
Davis is a fighter, and early on while the Lakers are struggling through injuries and trying to find their identity, Davis' toughness should be lauded.
