Shaquill O’Neal feels Lakers star Anthony Davis has fell off in terms of performance as he wants him to step up in LeBron James’ absence

There was a time when experts were considering Anthony Davis’ name in MVP conversations, speaking about his heroics for the Los Angeles Lakers. But ever since he won the NBA Championship his form has gone down. He has had his fair share of injuries which has hindered his progress in becoming a player who can single handedly turn things around for the Lakers.

While his stocks have been down in recent times, he still has shown his mettle time and again. But former Lakers legend and NBA analyst, Shaquille O’Neal feels that Davis has fallen off in terms of performances and also with the injuries that he has suffered leaving LeBron James alone.

“I don’t want to say this disrespectfully, but he has fell off,” O’Neal said regarding Anthony Davis in recent years.

The Lakers are currently in twelfth position with an underwhelming record of 29-32. They definitely have raised the bar with the deadline day trades but for now they are forced to make a push for a playoff spot and they have to do it without their talisman LeBron James. NBA’s scoring King is sidelined due to a foot injury that he suffered recently. So the onus is on the other players to step up and carry the Lakers to a playoff spot.

O’Neal often shares his opinions and thoughts on a lot of NBA players and this time he said about Davis.He wants Davis to stand up and be the leader in LeBron’s absence and carry them to safer shores by the time LeBron returns.

“First note, let’s not get it twisted, Anthony Davis is not a big man, he’s a power forward,” O’Neal said. “So, let’s just let’s put combined big man and power forward, we can have this argument all day, every day. He’s playing great. Not being critical of him, I’m giving him the same information that Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) gave me,” O”Neal said in an interaction with Yahoo Sports.

Many people feel that the former Lakers big man is being overcritical of the current Lakers star. Davis may not be at his former level but he is still averaging 25.7 points per game and shooting 56.4%. Those are crazy numbers for someone who has been in and out with injuries.

Davis earlier was regarded as one of the top three players in the NBA given his ability to rule both ends of the court. Some Lakers fans even felt he had a genuine chance of winning MVPs consistently. But then injuries became a serious concern for him and it took away a lot of time. So to reach that level again, it will take time but for now he is leading the Lakers pretty well and doing everything in his power to help them secure a slot in the playoffs.