LeBron James makes ‘best player’ admission about teammate after narrow win vs Nets
LeBron James spoke about his star teammate after the Los Angeles Lakers’ one-point win vs. the Brooklyn Nets.
The Los Angeles Lakers continued to string together a winning streak as they registered a 102-101 win vs. the Brooklyn Nets in their recent matchup.
While it should have never been a close contest against the struggling Nets, the end result matters the most.
Moreover, the Lakers entered the game without Anthony Davis, who was sidelined due to a foot injury. Keeping that in mind, it’s still good that the Lakers ended up with a win, albeit a narrow one.
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LeBron James says Anthony Davis is the best player on the Lakers
Since joining the Lakers, Davis has always been the second option to LeBron James. Sure, the former No. 1 overall pick has shown signs of taking over the team, but injuries have prevented him from doing so.
However, this season, Davis is finally playing like an MVP candidate, and the team recognizes his value. During the postgame interview, LBJ spoke about how missing Davis forced the Lakers to approach the game in a different way.
“Every game is its own. You can’t base one game off the next. This league is too fragile to say, ‘Okay, let’s pick up right where we left off in the second half in Miami.’ We can’t do that,” James said.
He added: “We were without our best player on the team.”
Due to Davis’ absence, the Lakers’ defense had a huge hole in it and the Nets took full advantage of it. But the Lakers fought back despite playing with a depleted lineup.
On a positive note, it’s good to see that James admits that the Lakers is now AD’s team.
Read More: Anthony Davis believes D’Angelo Russell was holding back rising young Lakers star, ‘He’s a hooper…’
LeBron James and Austin Reaves take care of business
With Davis out, the dynamic duo of James and Austin Reaves handled the offensive duties for head coach JJ Redick.
Reaves finished the night with a career-high 38 points, while the King added 29 points in the win. Thanks to the duo, the Lakers are now on a two-game winning streak and improved to a 22-17 record for the season.
Is the current version of the Lakers perfect? No. But with some slight tweaks, they can be a real dark horse candidate to make a deep run in the 2025 playoffs.
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LA Lakers fans all agree as Austin Reaves drops career-high numbers in win vs Nets
The LA Lakers secured a narrow win against a Brooklyn Nets team devoid of confidence and one star stepped up to the mark dropping a career-high display.
Following up on their victory over the Miami Heat, the Lakers earned a 102-101 win against a Nets side who had just suffered their heaviest franchise defeat.
The Nets lost by 59 points to the LA Clippers and De’Andre Russell meant business on his Lakers return with a 19-6-8 display.
LeBron James continued his great form with 29 points, showing he has plenty more in the tank, but it was Austin Reaves who truly stole the show.
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Lakers fans impressed by Reaves display
It has been clear that the Lakers require someone to step up and support the regular starring efforts of LeBron and Anthony Davis.
LeBron is averaging 23.8 points, while Davis is going slightly better with 25.8. However, the Lakers cannot rely on these two every night.
The Lakers did not have the luxury of relying on Davis against the Nets and it meant others would need to make their mark, Reaves did just that.
Reaves is the Lakers’ next big star but inconsistency has prevented him from taking the next jump. However, his 38-point, three assists and three rebound display, a career-high has highlighted his quality once more.
One Lakers fan simply said: “Austin You’re Him!” while another said: “Great to see him grow.”
His display left many questioning why he is being rumored of a potential trade from the Lakers with one saying: “He’s dodging the trade,” and another joined in stating: “How is this man in trade rumors?”
The praise for Reaves work was hailed by one fan as he thanked him for his display saying: “Well done AR. You and Lebron powered the Lakers tonight.”
Reaves speaks out on LeBron dunk, ‘still cool’
Reaves passion for the Lakers cannot be questioned, he is averaging 18.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists this season, and is willing to leave it all out on the court.
Brother Spencer recently revealed to NBA Analysis that the star was learning a lot from LeBron and was thriving in LA.
The previously undrafted star was eager to get back to playing following the devastating LA wildfires which postponed many of the Lakers games, he certainly made up for lost time with his display against the Nets.
Reaves was questioned after the game as to why he passed the ball to LeBron for a dunk when he had the option to score 40 points, his answer was clear.
He said: “I would say 95% of the time if there’s a situation like that I’m going to throw the ball up to him. I’ve seen my whole life him catching lobs and dunking so to be the one to throw him the ball is still cool to me.”
The Lakers are now on a two-game unbeaten run and will be looking to continue that momentum against fierce rivals the LA Clippers.
