ESPN sports activities pundit Stephen A. Smith has apologised for mocking Anthony Davis after the LA Lakers large man reportedly sustained a concussion within the Lakers’ loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of their second spherical playoff collection.
The Lakers have been seeking to wrap up the collection win however the Warriors claimed a 121-106 victory to remain alive and pressure a Game 6. The Lakers lead the collection 3-2.
Davis has been pivotal to the Lakers’ playoff run however was sidelined within the fourth quarter when he copped an unintended elbow to the pinnacle by Warriors centre Kevon Looney as they contested a rebound.
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Davis doubled over in ache and clutched his head. He performed no additional half within the recreation and was taken to the locker room in a wheelchair, in line with NBA insider Chris Haynes.
Davis is notoriously injury-prone, and Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley burst right into a match of giggles post-game on Inside The NBA — which viewers interpreted as blatant mocking of Davis.
Over on ESPN, Smith stated there was little question O’Neal and Barkley have been laughing at Davis leaving the sport from an innocuous bump as he roasted the Lakers centre in an all-time rant.
“I’ll be damned if I wasn’t laughing,” Smith started.
“I was like, concussion? Concussion? I thought the NFL season was over. I understand concussions can happen in other sports — boxing, UFC — and I mean if the collision is fierce enough I guess it can happen in basketball too.
“But damn, I ain’t seen nothing that made me say concussion. A wheelchair, really? That’s where we are?”
Smith then joked that it appeared like Davis had been clobbered in an NFL-style sort out.
“I hope Anthony Davis is OK,” he stated.
“(But) we’ve got to stop it. It’s the playoffs, man. Damn, did he run and get hit by Ronnie Lott or something. Did I miss something? Is Ray Lewis in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform. Did he get hit by Aaron Donald? Did I miss something?
“No one is saying concussions aren’t serious. We’re saying we found it hard to believe a concussion actually happened on that play. I can assure you Shaq and Barkley are still laughing.”
Smith’s rant, and the response of O’Neal and Barkley, didn’t go down properly with viewers, who accused the pundits of constructing gentle of concussion.
Smith later apologised, tweeting: “Blow back is Blow back. Comes with the territory, peeps. I was in no way minimising the seriousness of a concussion.
“I was questioning whether Anthony Davis really had one, considering the play I saw & other hits I’ve seen him absorb.
“But, bottom line, it was wrong for me to do. Period! My bad.”
“Obviously everyone saw he took a shot to the head, but we just checked on him,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham stated after the sport.
“He seems to be doing really good already. That’s just where he’s at. That’s the status of it right now.”
Davis has undergone concussions assessments however it’s unclear if he’ll have the ability to play in Game 6 or Game 7, ought to the Warriors pressure a decider.
Source: www.news.com.au
