Getty LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
As the Los Angeles Lakers approach the end of the regular season, they need to be on top of their game. A top-notch trade deadline helped them make up for their rough start to the season, but with how packed the Western Conference is, they don’t have much room for error.
On Wednesday night, they took care of business against the Chicago Bulls. LeBron James returned to the starting lineup and, in tandem with Anthony Davis, led the Lakers to victory. After the game, Davis spoke about how James’ and the team’s high IQ assists in their ability to mesh as a team without much practice time.
“I think everybody is selfless, which kind of helps it,” Davis said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “Obviously, with limited practice times and Bron just getting back, D-Lo [D’Angelo Russell] getting back, I think the IQ level is so high that we’re able to fast-track things and read the game. Figure out stuff on the fly. So, that’s the good thing about high-IQ guys. You don’t really need practice. We can just kind of talk about it and then just kind of execute it.”
While James played well against the Bulls, it was Davis who stole the show. He finished the night with 38 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks on 13-of-20 shooting from the floor and 1-of-1 shooting from behind the three-point line.
Meanwhile, James also put up some solid stats. He ended the game with 25 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals on 10-of-19 shooting from the floor and 1-of-3 shooting from deep.
D’Angelo Russell Sounds Off on LeBron James
Meanwhile, Russell also had some words for Davis and James post-game. He spoke about how their games help open up the floor for himself and Austin Reaves.
“I mean, as I said earlier, if you can dominate the game from a lot of different areas and have that versatility. I mean, I don’t know if you can name anything Austin Reaves can’t really do on the offensive end,” Russell said via the NBA Inteviews YouTube channel. “He dominates the game. And myself, I try to do the same. So, when you got us next to those two guys out there, the game’s just super simple. We got off to a great start, and you can kind of get a taste of it. AD had 40 points, and Bron [on a] minute restriction, like it was just easy. It never felt like we were stressing. The offense never really felt like it wasn’t fluid. So, I give the credit to the guys that we’re around.”
Austin Reaves Shows Love to Anthony Davis
In addition, Reaves had some high praise for Davis post-game, discussing his monster performance.
“Yeah, for sure. Basically, the same. From the get-go, you could tell he was going to be very aggressive and, to say the least, was going to carry us,” Reaves said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “[He had] 38 [points] and 10 [rebounds]. Made big-time shots down the stretch. Floaters [and] threes. So, when you see one of your best players giving out that much energy in the first quarter, you really just give him the ball and get out of the way, and if he passes it, do something good. If not, let him go do what he does.”