The Los Angeles Lakers were a defeated, mediocre team. He started the season with very poor numbers (10 losses in his first 12 games). They accumulated five consecutive defeats and could not count on LeBron James in his prime due to his physical problems.
Less than a month ago, specifically on November 11, the Los Angeles franchise hit bottom with the defeat against the Sacramento Kings. Since then, the team has taken a 180 degree turn coinciding with the best version of an expected Anthony Davis. His figure has been key to returning to the path of victory, with eight wins and two losses in the last ten games. They are already twelfth in the Western conference (10-12), one game away from the play-in and two from the play-offs.
This fantastic run couldn't be explained without the fascinating moment of Davis. Absolutely dominant as he had not been remembered since the 'bubble' of 2020, the center, finally away from the physical problems that have plagued him in recent years, gave a huge recital this Sunday with 55 points and 17 rebounds in the victory against the Washington Wizards.
This exhibition was not something isolated. In his last ten games, Davis has scored at least 70% of his field goals and has had more than 30 points in six of them.
Along the way, he has left some performances to frame such as the 44 points and 10 rebounds against Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee or the 37 points and 21 rebounds in the loss in Phoenix (only the Suns and the Pacers have beaten the Lakers in this 8-2 ).
The center has slightly left a LeBron James in the background who, in his twentieth season in the league, is clear who is currently the beacon of purple and gold. "It is our job to give him the ball at all times," said LeBron this Sunday, who assured that Davis is playing at the MVP level.
LeBron's interesting step back isn't the only move that points to a reassignment of roles for the Angels. The clearest is the consolidation of Russell Westbrook as second unit leader, a role in which he is increasingly comfortable and which also healthily reduces the constant noise around the controversial point guard.
As a second-unit shaker, Westbrook has had big days like his game at Milwaukee on Friday in which he had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists without turning a turnover. Other secondary actors have also stepped forward, such as the bold and multi-purpose Austin Reaves or a fairly reliable Lonnie Walker to supply the team with points.
On the contrary, there are names that still do not quite fit into the puzzle (Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn or a Juan Toscano-Anderson weighed down by injuries) and there is also the doubt that this growth of the Lakers has been based on a stretch affordable on your schedule.
But what is indisputable is the calm and solid work of Darvin Ham in his first experience as head coach of the NBA to provide identity and character to these rising Lakers.
The question is whether to go to the market or not. Things have been going so well for the Lakers lately that they have even turned down the volume on the voices that clamored for seismic movements in the Los Angeles squad. But those murmurs continue now that the Lakers are indeed competitive.
The usual suspects from recent months such as Myles Turner and Buddy Hield (Indiana Pacers) or DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic (Chicago Bulls) follow on the list of possible signings. At the center of all the unconfirmed rumors and transfer hypotheses, Westbrook remains the star player simply because having the second highest paid player in the NBA ($47 million) as a reserve is easy to define as an unnecessary luxury.
But the key question is whether Rob Pelinka, the team's general manager, is willing to part with his first-round picks from the 2027 and 2029 drafts to all-in on Davis' huge moment, take advantage of a LeBron who at some point he will have to lower his level and, ultimately, believe one hundred percent in these Lakers who want to return to the front row of the NBA.
