Davis and James needed their minutes limited because it was their very first match of the preseason but their stat lines were so impressive. While James had 15 points, eight assists and three rebounds, davis finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes.
ADs presence helped take pressure off James shoulders. Last season he was made to create shots for himself on several occasions but with Davis on the court, the Lakers have a scorer and James could thrive as a creator.
The bench players also stepped up, especially Troy Daniels along with Alex Caruso. Daniels had 14 points on 6 of 11 shooting and 2 from beyond the arc at 25 minutes and Alex Caruso scored 10 points with six assists in 20 minutes.
Avery Bradley signed a yearlong, $9.7 million deal with the Lakers on July 8 in one of the very underrated moves of this season and while he didt shoot nicely, his defense decided.
Bradley averaged 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 30.2 minutes over 63 games with the Clippers and Grizzlies last season and that he fits well with Anthony Davis and LeBron James and he also left 38.4 percent of his own 5.2 3-point attempts in 14 games with the Grizzlies last season. He averaged 16.1 points, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals over 31.6 minutes each game for them.
Odds To Win The NBA Championship
(Courtesy of 5Dimes)
Los Angeles Clippers +400
Los Angeles Lakers +500
Milwaukee Bucks +525
Philadelphia 76ers +575
Houston Rockets +675
Golden State Warriors +1175
Utah Jazz +1200
Denver Nuggets +1800
Boston Celtics +2750
Portland Trail Blazers +2800
Brooklyn Nets +4000
New Orleans Pelicans +4500
Toronto Raptors +6000
San Antonio Spurs +7500
Indiana Pacers +8000
Miami Heat +10000
Dallas Mavericks +10000
Orlando Magic +18500
Sacramento Kings +20000
Minnesota Timberwolves +25000
Atlanta Hawks +27500
Detroit Pistons +31500
Oklahoma City Thunder +33500
Phoenix Suns +50000
Chicago Bulls +50000
New York Knicks +100000
Memphis Grizzlies +100000
Washington Wizards +125000
Cleveland Cavaliers +150000
Charlotte Hornets +200000
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