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LeBron James was the best player on the LA Lakers team that won the 2020 NBA championship. However, that may not be the case anymore.
This season, Anthony Davis has shown that when healthy, he’s the biggest reason why the Lakers are more competitive. In the last few games, when James was out with a groin injury, AD put up MVP-like numbers.
Here’s what James had to reply when asked if he had a conversation with Davis on how the big man should continue being aggressive:
“We won a championship together. It’s year four for us, I think, maybe? Don’t need to have a talk with AD about if I come back you need AD be AD. We’ll figure out around him. I’ll figure it out. We gotta keep the ball in AD’s hands.
"It’s our job, some of the guys who are ball handlers, mine, DS [Schroder], Austin [Reaves], Russ [Westbrook] to give him the ball and we did that tonight.”
In six games without LeBron James this season, Anthony Davis has been arguably the best player in the NBA. He averaged 32.5 points, 15.2 rebounds and 2.3 blocks without James in the lineup.
James has repeatedly vowed this season that getting AD more touches of the ball will be his and the team's priority. On several occasions, that hasn’t been strictly followed by coach Darvin Ham.
Against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Utah Jazz earlier this month, AD scored two points in the fourth quarter in both games. The Lakers were blown out by the Cavs and the Jazz after a tight first half.
Two nights ago against the Indiana Pacers, Anthony Davis had another great first half and was involved in offense until the fourth quarter. LA blew a 17 point lead in the final period and stunningly lost to the resilient Pacers.
LeBron James took eight shots in the fourth, while Anthony Davis attempted just two. They may not have talked about Davis continuing to demand the ball, but they surely deviated from that strategy. It was another painful loss and a reminder of what the Lakers need to do to succeed this season.
LeBron James fed the ball to Anthony Davis against the Portland Trail Blazers
After the loss to the Indiana Pacers, LeBron James told the media that he wasn’t sure what happened or why Anthony Davis took only two shots. He wanted to review the game's film before giving a concrete answer. James, however, did re-emphasize their need to get Davis going.
The LA Lakers were up 18 in the fourth when the Trail Blazers started to rally. Instead of repeating their mistake against the Pacers, James and others kept feeding Davis the ball.
AD delivered when needed and scored 14 points in the final quarter to get the win. LeBron James and Anthony Davis know what it takes to win a title. They should just go out and do what’s necessary for the team to succeed, regardless of who gets the top billing.
Guess the Lakers players!
