The Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James have looked like they have a renewed sense of purpose through two games of the 2024-25 season.
The Lakers kicked off the new year with a strong win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, but they outdid themselves when they came from behind to beat the Phoenix Suns to move to 2-0. Los Angeles got another monstrous performance from Anthony Davis who led all scorers with 35 points, but it was also quietly a solid night from James who started the night off slow before kicking it into high gear in the second half.
In 35 minutes, James wound up recording 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go along with eight assists and four rebounds. The box score numbers don’t particularly stand out, but James had a huge hand in the Lakers’ second-half comeback and came up big when the team needed him to.
After playing so many minutes on the first leg of a back-to-back, Los Angeles has often chosen to rest James to preserve him for the end of the regular season and playoffs. However, James announced he would be suiting up for their back-to-back against the Sacramento Kings and even plans to play every regular season game the rest of the way if healthy.
“Yeah, yeah. I plan to play every games. We’ll see what happens if I don’t,” James said.
LeBron’s comments seem to contradict head coach JJ Redick who previously said that the plan to rest James and Davis on the second night of a back-to-back would depend on how the stars felt the day of. However, this could also simply mean James is already feeling good enough to play the next day which is a good sign of where he’s at physically.
With James confirming his status against the Kings, Davis should also be in the lineup despite playing 38 minutes against the Suns. While Los Angeles has the advantage of being the host team, Sacramento will come with a faster lineup that will look to turn the game into a track meet.
LeBron James calls Anthony Davis Lakers’ main focal point
Perhaps the reason LeBron James is able to confidently declare his plan to play all 82 regular games is the fact that Anthony Davis appears ready to hold more responsibility. James has passed the torch over to Davis as the franchise’s face and called him the main focal point of what the Lakers want to do on both ends of the floor.
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