Ever since Anthony Davis came to the Los Angeles Lakers four years ago, it has been their intention, as well as that of LeBron James, to have him become their No. 1 offensive option. While he has had some absolutely dominant stretches of basketball, it hasn’t happened on a consistent basis.
It seemed the team wanted to shift the burden even more to Davis this season, especially considering that James is 38 years of age. While he is leading L.A. in scoring at 26.3 points a game through six games, it still isn’t enough for some.
Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas said on “Gil’s Arena” that Davis admires James too much to take the keys to the offense from him. He then added that when a team has two stars or superstars, the keys to the offense need to be taken because they won’t be willingly handed off (h/t Lakers Daily).
“He admires him too much,” Arenas said. “… But think about it. When you have two stars on a team, no one is handing over the keys, just one is taking ’em. When did Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) hand over the keys to Kobe [Bryant]? Never.”
James is playing more minutes than planned so far this season. In 35.7 minutes he’s putting up 24.5 points, 9.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists a game while shooting 56.0 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from 3-point range.
While he is playing well, others will need to step up on both ends of the floor so he can save enough energy for the playoffs.
