Anthony Davis is the third Laker with back-to-back 35-point video games to open a season, becoming a member of Elgin Baylor (1962-63) and Jerry West (1969-70).
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LOS ANGELES —Essentially the most overused two phrases spoken in the course of the first week of each NBA season — it’s early — have to be repeated right here if just for the sake of context:
The Lakers seem like a good sufficient crew.
By means of two video games they’ve squared off towards a pair of projected Western Convention contenders and did greater than maintain their very own; they dominated throughout stretches and sealed the deal.
Beating the Suns on Friday evening adopted a gap win over the Timberwolves, and the unbeaten Lakers are feeling frisky and good about themselves. And maybe for good cause.
Anthony Davis is wholesome and beastly, LeBron James right here in his twenty second season as soon as once more reveals no indicators of deep growing old, and few flaws are surfacing.
Down 22 early, Los Angeles stormed again to beat Phoenix 123-116 and improved to 2-0 to open a season for the primary time since 2010-11. Listed here are 5 takeaways from a feel-good victory that places the Lakers atop of the West (no less than for now; it’s early):
1. Redick is likely to be prepared for the job
He arrived with a training resume lighter than the supermodels who sashay round Crypto.com Area and but, based mostly purely on how the Lakers are performing in his system, JJ Redick appears, shall we embrace, skilled?
There’s a noticeable chemistry and cohesion to the Lakers, particularly offensively. The ball is shared and the scoring is balanced. The supporting gamers round LeBron and AD appear assured and purposeful.
“The opposite evening we performed his sport plan to a T and trusted his defensive schemes. Tonight was a unique kind of sport,” stated Davis. “Down 22, that’s when the belief has to essentially kick in, the teaching has to kick in. J is available in at halftime, telling us ‘we’re alright, cool down, we all know what we’re doing flawed.’
“Him not panicking makes us not panic and we’re capable of stroll them down and ultimately take the lead. We’re trusting what he’s doing.”
Austin Reaves outplayed Devin Booker, took him off the dribble and dropped pictures from deep (5-for-7) to attain 26 factors. Rui Hachimura had moments for the second straight sport. And the bench produced.
About Reaves, Redick stated: “I knew he was participant earlier than I took this job. I didn’t understand he was this good.”
2. Davis appears unstoppable once more
For the second straight sport Davis was the ability supply offensively, scoring 35 factors towards the Suns after opening the season with 36.
Aggressive and forceful, Davis is choice A and it’s a job each he and the Lakers are embracing.
“The positions the place I’m getting the ball, it’s efficient,” he stated. “And when my teammates are taking part in nicely it opens the ground and alternatives for me.”
He additionally exploited the Suns’ most obvious weak spot — their lack of high quality dimension. Jusuf Nurkic had 4 turnovers, 4 fouls and one basket towards Davis and was on the bench within the fourth quarter. The Suns had been compelled to make use of Kevin Durant, who hardly ever guards facilities, on Davis as a substitute.
The blueprint for this Laker season is being revealed, and it has Davis penciled in as the primary occasion.
“He has a consolation degree and a confidence degree in that if the sport begins getting wacky, the ball is coming again to him,” stated Redick.
The Lakers are 2-0 beneath new head coach JJ Redick, with Anthony Davis serving as offensive and defensive hub on the ground.
3. Suns and protection are nonetheless beneath improvement
Mike Budenholzer is teaching the Suns as a result of the membership always collapsed defensively final season beneath Frank Vogel.
Effectively, the Suns can change the coach, however till they both discover higher defenders or develop a greater defensive mindset, that facet of the court docket may nonetheless be problematic.
They surrendered 71 second-half factors to the Lakers and a crew with such licensed scorers as Durant, Booker and Beal couldn’t sustain with that tempo.
When the pictures aren’t falling for the Suns, they’re weak till additional discover. They began the sport with blistering taking pictures, going 11-for-14 on from deep. However once they cooled and completed 6-for-26, their protection couldn’t save them.
This might in the end decide their destiny within the West, which is loaded. They had been swept final spring within the first spherical by the Timberwolves as a result of they struggled to attain. And if the Suns discover themselves engaged in a defensive battle, that’s most likely bother.
4. LA, the sports activities epicenter
Largest cheer of the evening got here when the Suns hit a third-quarter 3-pointer. The response wasn’t for the shot, after all. It was at that exact second when Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam for the Dodgers in Sport 1 of the World Collection.
Friday was a surreal evening in LA, stuffed with sports activities occasions. There was Lakers-Suns, the World Collection, USC-Rutgers, a pair of massive highschool soccer video games and in addition a live performance at Intuit Dome.
In consequence, it was a visitors armageddon, even by LA requirements. Not solely did many of the occasions begin roughly inside an hour of one another, in addition they ended inside that period of time. So, a snarl.
Or — this was good prep for what’s coming on the 2028 Olympics.
5. Two Jameses nonetheless on the roster, for now
When the Lakers schedule was introduced, it fell in place for Bronny James virtually as neatly because the Draft. That’s as a result of the street sport in Cleveland can be early sufficient within the season — Wednesday, really — to warrant him taking part in in his different “residence” city.
So it’s very probably that after this upcoming six-game street journey and that cease in Cleveland that Bronny will probably get despatched to the South Bay Lakers of the G League for creating.
This isn’t all that uncommon for a fifty fifth choose to open the season within the NBA, get a style of that life, then spend most, if not all, of the remainder of the season within the minors.
After taking part in three minutes within the season opener, Bronny notched a DNP towards the Suns. When he goes to the G League, the true drama will start, as a result of that degree is loaded with ravenous dreamers who lack the choices Bronny is blessed with if basketball doesn’t work out.
If Bronny doesn’t stand out within the G League — and bear in mind, he struggled in NBA Summer season League — will the Lakers convey him again?
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Shaun Powell has coated the NBA for greater than 25 years. You’ll be able to e-mail him right here, discover his archive right here and follow him on X.
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