"When you put a guy in a dogfight, he's going to perform just like that" - Shaq praises Anthony Davis for his monster game vs. Bucks

anthony-davis

Shaquille O’Neal gave Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis his flowers after putting up 34 points, 23 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 51 minutes in a win against the Milwaukee Bucks. “The Diesel” spoke highly of AD, who’s been criticized for his inconsistencies throughout the season.

“When he was with New Orleans and the numbers he was putting up, that’s when it was a new flash for me like this guy can do this every night. Sometimes he’s up, sometimes he’s down… Like he said, they are in a dogfight. When we put a guy like that in a dogfight, he’s gonna perform just like that,” O’Neal said in Tuesday’s “Inside the NBA.”

AD’s parents had one request for Shaq

The four-time champion also revealed that Davis’ parents once approached him after the play-in game last season, requesting for Shaquille to keep showing their son tough love on air because he’s capable of reaching greater heights.

O’Neal admitted that’s one of the reasons why he continues to call out AD on air because he believes the one-time champion is a generational talent.

The 31-year-old silenced his critics after he outdueled Giannis Antetekoumpo late in the game on Tuesday. For the second straight contest without LeBron James, it was Davis who prevailed against the “Greek Freak,” despite the two-time MVP putting up 34 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists.

Should the Bucks be concerned?

Losing a second straight game to the LeBron-less Lakers should be a wake-up call for the Bucks. After going up by as much as 19 points, they put together another Doc Rivers-esque choke job down the stretch — this time, on their home floor. Milwaukee’s coach, however, didn’t seem too worried about it.

“It is a missed opportunity, but if we had won, that doesn’t change anything,” Doc said. “We’re trying to go and get better. I thought we had the game in our hands, and we let it go. That happens, and it’ll happen again, and we’ll win some the other way, too.”

Was it because Milwaukee took the Lakers for granted again? The fact that Darvin Ham outcoached Rivers? Or do the Bucks have roster holes that seem to be exploited down the stretch? All of these are valid concerns and ones that need to be addressed if Milwaukee hopes to end up with the championship trophy in June.