Anthony Davis showed telling signs in the Lakers' winning game against the Utah Jazz on Monday that he is the franchise's emerging dominant man. The 2012 No. 1 pick burned the rim with 42 points and complemented with 12 rebounds, thus powering Los Angeles to a 116-108 victory.
AD's bubble city performance is something to marvel at. The power forward knocked down 34 points in an earlier match with the Clippers and Davis' efforts allowed the Lakers to turn back their Los Angeles rival.
The impressive run with Davis at the forefront of the Orlando campaign catapulted the Lakers to the top of the Western Conference. And being the No. 1 seed has eluded the team for a decade now and AD has made it happen for Purple & Gold.
It might be too early to speak but according to Clutch Points, the Lakers star is the force that will propel his squad to the top of the league. If Davis will continue with his juggernaut showing in the playoffs then there is no reason for the Lakers to be frustrated.
The 2019-20 campaign of the Lakers is clear enough - the goal is to win the championship. In the previous season, LeBron James was brought in and it served as the loudest indication that the team means business.
Then Davis came in and he is proving to be the winning combination. The Lakers made the playoffs, which the team failed to do in James' first year with the squad. And the indications are just strong that AD's partnership with the King this season will lead to the Larry O'Brien this October.
Per the same report, James had shown from Day 1 that for the Lakers to unlock their first title in years, the gameplay has to be centered on Davis. That is why the four-time MVP has been setting up AD to get involved in the games early on, and the strategy is working.
The Lakers are now one of the favored teams to win the title but it will not be easy. The stats indicated that the Milwaukee Bucks have the greater chance to be crowned the champions at the end of the campaign so it's a challenge for both Davis and James to prove the numbers wrong.
And it's a good thing that in the name of success for the collective, the King is willing to let Davis become the star of the show, according to Bleacher Report. It is obvious that the NBA superstar is completely sold on AD's basketball abilities and the 27-year-old's willingness to lead.
"If we're not playing through Anthony Davis while he's on the floor, then there's no sense to having him on the floor ... It's exciting to have such a beautiful young mind and a beautiful player but also a great leader as well," James was reported as saying.
It will be a tough playoff for the James-Davis tandem ahead but the partnership will only need to sustain the great things they've started already.
