LOS ANGELES – Anthony Davis, the closest to scoring at least 35 points in his second consecutive game to be detectable this season, led the Lakers to a 123-116 victory over the Phoenix Suns and a 2-0 record, he was once asked if he could identify himself. The two great alternative Lakers to test their sizzling begin.
It took him six wrong guesses (Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, James Significance and LeBron James) before he was given a suitable one.
“Jerry West?” Davis asked, appropriately naming the Hall of Famer who opened the 1969-70 season with 39 points in his first game and 42 in his second.
James, who was in his warehouse near Davis, helped the obese man discover the solution.
“Elgin,” James stated.
“Elgin Baylor,” Davis endured, mentioning the forward who began the 1962-63 season with 71 points in his first two games, equaling Davis’ total.
It has been a revealing start for Davis, who at 31 years old and in his 13th NBA season and sixth with the Lakers, of course seems positioned to carry the torch as the team’s best player.
“It’s very important that he is the main focal point for us every night,” said James, 39, going on to add 21 points and 8 assists. “We know what he’s going to do defensively, but offensively we have to find him in multiple spots on the court throughout the game. And we’ve done that in two games.”
James, a 22-year veteran, doesn’t exactly admit that his discomfort is slowing. Glance denies as evidence anything other than his decision to be asked if he would play games on Saturday on the second night of a back-to-back against the Sacramento Kings.
“I plan to play every game [this season]”James said. ‘We’ll see what happens if I don’t do it.’
Los Angeles bounced back from an early 22-point loss against the Suns, with Davis, James and Austin Reaves (26 points, eight assists, three steals) importing the price.
“What he’s been doing is unrealistic, obviously, but I expect him to dominate the game in many facets,” Reaves said of Davis. “I’m lucky to have him as a teammate.”
And Lakers lovers, it seems, will have to count themselves lucky to have JJ Redick as a mentor.
You have to rattle off as many names as Davis did (Darvin Ham, Frank Vogel, Luke Walton, Byron Scott, Mike D’Antoni and Mike Brown) before mentioning the best mentor to lead the franchise to a 2-0 victory. Started: Phil Jackson in 2010-11.
Redick, like the rest of the team, also gave credit to Davis.
“There is an intention to have [Davis] involved as much as possible,” Redick said. “We recognize what type of player he is and that he can create mismatches. … He has a comfort level and a confidence level that if the game starts to get crazy, he knows the ball will come back to him. … The ball will find it.”
