Anthony Davis out to show he can lead Lakers without LeBron James

Anthony Davis understands arsenic good arsenic helium ever has: All eyes are connected him.

A instrumentality with a camera provided a glimpse into what Davis was going done Monday night, arsenic helium sat successful the passageway betwixt the tribunal and the locker country looking sapped. The tummy bug that made him vomit 5 times Saturday successful Portland spot him again against Charlotte. According to Davis, aft playing the afloat 3rd 4th against Charlotte, helium had to propulsion up again.

But betwixt gulps of Gatorade and chewable tablets, Davis managed to play done this one. His 4th fourth was not his champion (1 for 4 from the field) but his overtime effort, with six points and a cardinal artifact of a Terry Rozier changeable adjacent the perimeter was bully capable to get the Lakers connected the close broadside of the triumph column.

There’s a increasing knowing for Davis: That’s what radical expect from him.

“(Carmelo Anthony) is successful my receptor a batch astir starring the squad and conscionable controlling the team, particularly with (LeBron James) out,” helium said. “We don’t person each our guys yet, truthful guys are playing a batch of minutes now, but it’s my occupation to marque definite I enactment successful bid of the team.”

With 32 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks, Davis was capable to instrumentality bid successful a 126-123 triumph implicit the resilient Charlotte Hornets, the Lakers’ 2nd overtime triumph without James successful the lineup. And portion Davis’ presumption arsenic a franchise cornerstone is well-secured by his declaration done 2025, a persistent question has followed him into his 3rd play with the Lakers: Can helium pb them without LeBron?

As a frontcourt player, Davis struggles astatine times to dictate what the Lakers bash connected the court. His usage is 28.4% – precocious compared to most, but inactive down much ball-dominant bigs specified arsenic Giannis Antetokounmpo (33.9%), Joel Embiid (32.8%) oregon Nikola Jokic (29.4%). With a brace of ball-dominant teammates, including James and Russell Westbrook, Davis simply has little power implicit wherever the shot goes possession-to-possession.

This has a correlation with however Davis impacts winning. His occurrence is champion tied to James: The duo had a plus-8 nett standing during the 2019-20 regular season, and a plus-14.1 nett standing past season. But James tin interval without his teammate: The Lakers scored 10.3 points per 100 possessions much erstwhile James was connected the tribunal during the title play than erstwhile helium was off, compared to conscionable a plus-0.6 differential for Davis. Throughout their partnership, lineups fueled by James person prospered, portion Davis by himself has either simply held serve, oregon outright struggled.

As the Lakers person scrapped this season, Davis’ minutes – inexorably tied to galore of Westbrook’s – person bogged down to a minus-3.2 differential. While the 36-year-old James is expected to proceed playing for years, galore are monitoring however Davis is flying without him arsenic the Lakers hole for an epoch successful the not-too-distant aboriginal erstwhile helium becomes their starring man.

So possibly immoderate of those responsibilities – and battling a continued cognition that he’s not tough – weighed connected Davis arsenic helium played done Monday night’s game. For his caller teammate Anthony, however, Davis has done capable to soundlessness that peculiar disapproval by now.

“I deliberation a batch of times we find a communicative and we effort to instrumentality to it erstwhile it comes to athletes,” helium said. “I cognize he’s not soft, I cognize he’s tough. I cognize if he’s retired determination and helium tin play past he’s going to play, and that’s the lone happening that matters to me.”

Davis knows what it is to transportation the full value of a franchise, adjacent if his tally successful New Orleans didn’t spell the mode helium wanted successful the end. Davis said Rajon Rondo was the archetypal to genuinely situation him erstwhile they played unneurotic during the 2017-18 play and yet swept the Portland Trail Blazers successful a first-round playoff series: “He was the archetypal 1 to travel to maine like, this is the clip wherever you pb america to wins, playoffs, whatever.”

While Westbrook is nominally his co-pilot this season, Davis finds much heaped connected his shoulders arsenic the polarizing constituent defender continues to grind done the accommodation of his 4th franchise successful arsenic galore seasons. Sometimes, that volition mean toughing it out.

“Just marque definite I enactment successful power of the team, conscionable putting guys wherever they request to beryllium and owning it with leadership, bringing that enactment skillset retired and conscionable helping guys out,” helium said. “So I’m conscionable trying to build, that’s decidedly the mindset connected the team, but decidedly with Bron out.”