Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron and AD shine in loss to Mavs — 5 lessons!

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 01: LeBron James #23 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers while playing the Phoenix Suns at Staples Center on January 1, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Lakers won 117 to 107. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 01: LeBron James #23 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers while playing the Phoenix Suns at Staples Center on January 1, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Lakers won 117 to 107. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Lakers have the best power forward in the Western Conference! 

Saying Anthony Davis is the best power forward in the Western Conference is like saying the sky is blue and water is wet. That is obvious. But what the Los Angeles Lakers fans needed to see was if he is in rhythm and in shape.

Just like LeBron James, Anthony Davis is also ready and focused. It didn’t take him long to make his presence felt. He scored the first two baskets, right? AD can affect the Lakers’ offense in so many ways.

  • On this first basket here. Notice how he sees the mismatch of having a smaller defender on him in the post. He realizes the mismatch, faces up to the rim and just easily shoots over the defender for the basket.  
  • Looking at the second play here, Davis standing out at the 3 point line automatically stretches the defense out and relieves the LeBron double team. When LeBron makes the pass, Davis makes the move to the elbow for an easy mid-range shot.

While scoring the basketball is an Anthony Davis forte, it’s the defense that has made the Lakers a championship contender. Oh, he played some defense too. Davis had 2 steals and stagnated the Dallas interior offense as he did very little to make anyone wonder why he’s a Defensive Player of the Year contender.

Just like LeBron James, the coaching staff needs to monitor the minutes. As well as LeBron James played, AD played so efficiently and was just as dominant.

Now let’s get to the good stuff. The regular readers would never let this post-game be complete if this guy wasn’t included.