Anthony Davis has message for haters who called him soft after Lakers Game 1 loss to Suns

The Los Angeles Lakers dropped Game 1 to the Phoenix Suns and Anthony Davis is taking responsibility for the 99-90 loss but doesn’t want to hear anyone call him soft.

Anthony Davis has to be better if the Lakers are going to beat the Suns and keep their goal of repeating as NBA champions alive.

Davis was not his usual dominant self in Game 1 when he shot 5-of-16 from the field and was a team-worst -18 in the nine-point loss. Davis had 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks, numbers that are a far cry from what he averaged down the stretch when the Lakers rounded into form as he and LeBron James got healthy for a playoff run.

He’s wearing it after the poor Game 1 and vows to be better.

“There’s no way we’re winning a game, let alone a series, with me playing the way that I played,” Davis said. “So, I mean, this is on me. I take full responsibility, for sure.

Anthony Davis has a message for the haters calling him soft

And Davis has heard his haters raise the volume on their criticism after a season that saw him miss a large chunk due to another injury. The oft-injured superstar has missed time throughout his career with the New Orleans Pelicans and in his short time with the Lakers. It’s been the only knock on him, but he’s got a stern message for anyone who thinks he’s soft.

“I don’t give a (expletive) – it’s as simple as that,” Davis said via The Orange County Register. “If there are people who say that, most of them probably never were in the game. I really don’t care.”

Whether it’s best for Davis to acknowledge he’s hearing the criticism rather than focusing entirely on the Suns and slowing Deandre Ayton who had 21 points and 16 rebounds on 10-of-11 shooting while recording a game-high plus-16 could be concerning.

Davis, however, has the support of his teammates, including Alex Caruso who thinks the veteran big man will be his usual self in a couple of games.

“I know I’ve heard a lot of chit-chat, some tweets, some words around the world about, ‘A.D.’s so soft, and he’s falling all over the place,’” Caruso said during a postgame interview on Spectrum SportsNet. “Guys gotta understand they just gotta give him a couple days, a couple games to get his feet under him. The beast is waking up.”

The problem with that is if it takes a couple of games for Davis to start playing like Davis, the Lakers could be facing a deficit that not even he and LeBron can overcome.

Davis looks to return to form in Game 2 against the Suns on Tuesday, May 25.