NEW YORK—Insisting the star forward’s absence was the biggest factor in the Lakers’ first-round elimination, Stephen A. Smith blasted Anthony Davis on First Take Monday for refusing to play through a groin surgery. “Now, I love AD, but I have to question the brother’s toughness if he can’t gut it out through a little anesthesia,” said Smith, who recalled the “golden-era” of basketball when players would routinely bleed all over the court. “I’m not saying you have to drop 30 points, but at least go out there and be a decoy. I have no doubt that Michael Jordan would have played through an Achilles surgery, so I’m not asking for much. His season was on the line, and he was hardly even in the arena—he watched the game from a hospital bed. This is so typical for Anthony Day-To-Davis.” At press time, Smith slammed Davis and his Lakers’ teammates for entering the off-season so soon after a devastating loss.