Anthony Davis Delivers MVP-Caliber Performance as the Lakers Get a Critical Win Over Golden State

Without LeBron James in the lineup, the Lakers (on most nights at least) will need Anthony Davis to provide 48 minutes of MVP caliber basketball to give themselves a good chance to win. Friday against Minnesota, he delivered most of that, but not quite all. Make no mistake - Davis was LA's best player, by far. But he couldn't quite deliver perfection to elevate a bad night from the supporting cast. Sunday against Golden State, Davis was everything he could be for the Lakers, and while for a stretch it looked like he might be again let down by his teammates, this time they came through. Whether a big first half from Jarred Vanderbilt, a big fourth quarter from Dennis Schroder, or excellent efforts throughout by Troy Brown Jr. and Austin Reaves, the Lakers role players stepped up and provided great backup for Davis, and as a result, the Lakers picked up a must-have on Sunday. With the win, the Lakers into a statistical tie for the 10 spot, are only a half-game behind New Orleans for the nine, and two behind the Clippers and Mavs for seven and eight. They're also a half game from 13th... so no time to rest on their laurels. But for a team that had to pile up wins after the All Star break to have a chance, the Lakers are still looking good, even without LeBron James. They're 6-3 since the deadline, including 3 games LeBron missed due to injury, with a relatively easy schedule (or about as easy as could be asked) going forward. They're catching a break Tuesday, for example, because a slumping Grizzlies team will be without the injured Brandon Clarke and star guard Ja Morant, who has stepped away from the team (quasi-suspension?) following a run of disturbing reports about off-court behavior. But it all starts with Davis, who has to maintain this pace and in the process, help re-write the narrative about his time with the Lakers, and potentially how people feel about his future here. And meanwhile, fans might want to cut Darvin Ham a little slack on his rotation choices, at least until D'Angelo Russell is back. HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: Anthony Davis comes up big for the Lakers, who get a badly needed win. SEGMENT 2: Can Davis keep this up? What about the rest of the supporting cast, Sunday and beyond? SEGMENT 3: Context matters with rotation choices. Darvin Ham's option tree is pretty limited with both James and Russell sidelined. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. Ultimate Pro Basketball GM To download the game just visit probasketballgm.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store. PrizePicks First time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDON BetterHelp This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at Betterhelp.com/LockedOnNBA and get on your way to being your best self. FanDuel Make Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices