Getty Anthony Davis & LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The preseason is over for the Los Angeles Lakers and it’s hard to deny that they look ready to have another big year. They won all four preseason games they played and got some really good performances from players throughout the roster. Friday night was Anthony Davis‘ time to shine.
He scored 35 points in just 30 minutes and hit a buzzer-beater three to end the third quarter. LeBron James revealed some strong thoughts about his superstar teammate.
“He wants to be one of the best,” LeBron said Friday, via Ryan Ward. “We know that championships is the holy grail in this league … His confidence is out the roof and it’s up to us as his teammates to continue to help his confidence continue to soar”
Davis won a championship just a couple of months ago and got paid this offseason. It would be really easy for him to take his foot off the gas, especially in the preseason. Lakers fans should be excited because it doesn’t look or sound like he’s content with just one championship. He could be in for a massive year and could get MVP consideration.
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Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Says Lakers Will Be Ready
Based on how the Lakers played in the preseason, it’s clear that they took it very seriously. A dialed-in Lakers team is probably unbeatable right now. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope gave LeBron and Davis credit for their strong leadership.
“We got our leaders, Bron and A.D.,” Caldwell-Pope said, per Kyle Good of the OC Register. “Their mindset is like, ‘Man, we don’t care if it’s the preseason. We wanna get out there and get after it.’ And four days from now, the regular season starts, and we’re gonna be ready.”
With two superstars leading the team, the Lakers are in very good hands. This season will be different than any other so they’re going to need that leadership at the top.
LeBron Stresses That This Season Will Be a Marathon
While the Lakers look good right now, there’s still the fact that they had the shortest time to rest out of any team in the NBA, other than the Miami Heat. It’s very possible Los Angeles doesn’t have the best regular-season ever. They set out to prove a point last season and they clearly did. LeBron has stressed the importance of looking at the season as if it were a marathon.
“We’re a marathon team, we understand that, we’re not in a sprint,” LeBron said. “I don’t think that it’s gonna be a fine line. I listen to my body, I listen to Mike Mancias, my trainer, I listen to the coaching staff, obviously listen to Frank, and I listen to my teammates as well. And go from there.”
LeBron will be turning 36 before the end of the year so it’s going to be very important for him to preserve his body for the playoffs. The Lakers have much better depth this year and that should give the superstar more chances to rest, if necessary.
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