Lakers LeBron James Dismisses doubts over Anthony Davis’ performance at the Playoffs

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the most underwhelming teams in the bubble. After a sloppy win over the Clippers to start the restart, the Lakers have struggled in almost every game. They are 2-4 in the bubble but have locked up the number one seed in the Western Conference.

LeBron had a great game against the Indiana Pacers, but the Lakers would lose due to T.J. Warren’s continued MVP-level play and another single-digit scoring night for Anthony Davis. Davis has been wildly inconsistent, leading the Lakers in their two wins and disappearing in every single loss.

LeBron, who had a 30 point night, was asked about AD’s struggles and whether these performances might indicate what happens in the playoffs. LeBron said,

“I don’t understand the question. There’s no way you can say ‘if it was a playoff game’ because if it was, we’d all be drunk. At the end of the day, you go out there and play the game. We wanted to get better and I feel like we did. T.J. Warren made some big shots down the stretch, like seven straight. Even with AD struggles, we put ourselves in a position to still win a ball-game”.

LeBron James in the bubble

LeBron and the Lakers have struggled mightily in the bubble. This is due to a combination of poor shooting and poor perimeter defense. Teams have been torching the Lakers, with the bench especially failing the team. There is offense generated without LeBron James on the court, meaning any time he is resting, the team is an offensive liability. Dwight and JaVale haven’t lived up to their regular season play. While Dion Waiters and Kyle Kuzma are playing decent, players like Danny Green are chucking shots and having a hard time finding a rhythm

LeBron himself has been slow in the bubble, but that seems intentional. He is letting the likes of AD and even Kyle Kuzma take the offensive load, with ‘Bron working as a facilitator. James is averaging 21.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 6.4 assists in the bubble. He has regressed with his offensive output from before the shutdown of the season but has improved his rebounds. This is primarily due to LeBron taking a more passive role in the Lakers offense to let others develop.

Source: ESPN YouTube