It has been more than a month since the trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. This deal forced the Lakers to reshuffle their roster, with LeBron James taking on a new role, according to NBA icon Carmelo Anthony.
“All the passes than LeBron was throwing to AD, Luka is capable of making those same exact passes. The roles is reversed now. He’s AD right now, and Luka is him,” Carmelo analyzed on his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast. “So now Bron knows, ‘All I have to do is run the court, I’m gonna get a mismatch, if Luka throws it, I can go get it.’”
Having played several years with James, both on Team USA and with the Lakers, Anthony knows the 40-year-old superstar well. “Bron, I’ve never seen him as happy as he looks playing the game right now,” the New York Knicks icon assured. “A lot of teams that Bron had wasn’t willing to make (expletive) work. We wasn’t willing to make the (expletive) work when I was with the Lakers.”
On how LeBron has adjusted to his new role with the team, Carmelo explained: “Luka got the ball now. This is the first time that we see Bron deferring to somebody with the ball. And he feels very comfortable with Luka being in control of that.” He also pointed out that James had never played with a point guard like Doncic. “He played with a playmaker that can go get it, like Kyrie (Irving),” Anthony said.
Los Angeles Lakers stars Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James during a game against the Memphis Grizzlies on December 29, 2021.
The new version of the Los Angeles Lakers
In the same conversation, Carmelo Anthony emphasized that this new version of the Los Angeles Lakers, with Doncic as the central figure, is working very well. “With Luka, Bron’s IQ on the game understands how to place Luka. ‘We´re gonna keep Luka moving around,’” he said.
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Anthony also analyzed how the other pieces of the team have adapted to this new style and are performing excellently. “(Jarred) Vanderbilt, he’s all over the (expletive) court. Austin Reaves is stepping into something special,” Carmelo said. “And then you just let Luka go do what Luka do.”
Can the Lakers compete in the West?
Riding an impressive seven-game winning streak that has propelled them into second place in the Western Conference standings, the Lakers now look like serious contenders. “They are a lockdown defensive team right now… They expanded their defense higher up the court,” Anthony observed.
However, during the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, his teammates wondered whether the Lakers could maintain this level of play if they were to face, for instance, Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets in the NBA playoffs. “I just think it’s very sustainable,” Anthony responded, though he acknowledged that Jokic would be a tough matchup for Los Angeles: “It’s nothing that Joker would do that nobody has seen anymore. He’s just that good and great at what he do.”
