Baron Davis finally admits Vinny Del Negro’s claim
After initially denying his head coach’s claim about his conditioning, Los Angeles Clippers point guard Baron Davis admitted for the first time that he was not in playing shape when he arrived
at the team’s training camp last month.
Head coach Vinny Del Negro criticized his starting point guard after missing their game against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday 1 November with a sore left knee, saying that the injury was
a product of Davis’ lack of focus in conditioning himself during the off-season.
The 32-year old point guard downplayed Del Negro’s assessment, but later admitted that he had a hard time in getting himself ready for a tough grind this season, although he reiterated that
he started working out on August.
"I usually get in shape in August," Davis said. "This August I started working out and getting ready to go and it got a lot harder. It wasn't like I wasn't doing anything but my body wasn't
responding as quickly as it usually does. That was a problem that hit me and kind of caught me off guard."
Davis also revealed that he felt soreness in his left knee as early as Sunday 31 October after their blowout loss against the Dallas Mavericks, but admitted that he did not think that it
was serious and will not cause him to miss games.
"It happened after the game Sunday. I just limped out of here not really paying attention to it," Davis said. "I kept icing it and it flared up. I didn't pay attention to it but I spent three
hours in therapy and when I got to the arena, I tried to do some layups and I was lacking some explosion."
Rookie guard Eric Bledsoe started the game against the Spurs and tallied nine points and three assists, which impressed Del Negro, who said that he is still expecting a lot from Davis, who
averaged 10.3 points and 5.7 assists in their first three games.
Del Negro, who took over the Clippers’ helm after Mike Dunleavy resigned during the off-season, believes that Davis can still be as explosive as he was with the Golden State Warriors if he
can stay focused even during the off-season.
"Baron got to do a better job in the offseason of keeping himself in condition and understanding his responsibility," Del Negro said. "By not preparing the right way, he's hurting himself
and hurting the group and he knows that."
The Clippers started the season with a 0-4 record and have also lost 22 of their last 26 games dating back to last season.
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