Charles Barkley Ripped Anthony Davis for the Lakers’ Struggle

NS Los Angeles Lakers are off to a completely disappointing start, at least compared to pre-season expectations. Los Angeles opened with a 12-12 record in its first 24 games and, while the Lakers have had injury problems throughout, the team has yet to exactly light up the world when it comes to fitness. Early-season hiccups have many looking to place blame elsewhere, with head coach Frank Vogel seemingly in the hot seat as a result.

On Tuesday, that topic was brought up in TNT’s Inside The NBA telecast, and Charles Barkley there are some words for Anthony Davis while protecting Vogel’s honor.

“Listen, Anthony Davis, you have to play better,” Barkley said. “I said this first night. If the Lakers turn out well, it’ll all be on you. It has nothing to do with Russell. It had nothing to do with LeBron, and the rest of them were the stupid adepts they assembled out there. But now you’ve all crossed the line, because I really like Frank Vogel. It’s not his fault.

“In my opinion, I blame Anthony Davis,” Barkley continued. “Anthony Davis, you know I like you as a person, but you don’t do what you have to. You are 27 years old. You are at your peak. You are said to be one of the five best players in the world. Up there with Giannis, Kevin Durant, and those guys. And you won’t get the end of the bargain. So now I hear you guys are going to fire the head coach. That’s the total number of BS. Now I feel better.”

Davis appeared in 23 of 24 games, and his tally was impressive with 24.4 points, 10 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. However, Davis seems to have lost his jump, making only 18.8% of three-point attempts, and the Lakers have an ugly -4.3 net with Davis on the floor this season. Los Angeles still has time to improve but, in a pretty direct way, one of the biggest voices in the sport has clearly challenged Davis and cooled Vogel.