LeBron James may be the star of Los Angeles Lakers and even the NBA for that matter, but he's paid homage to how integral Anthony Davis is after they suffered in his absence.
James returned to Cleveland with the Lakers, but they suffered an early blow on Tuesday night as Davis checked out of the game early with 'flu-like symptoms'. Davis left during the first quarter, and the Lakers struggled to cope without him on the court.
The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Lakers 116-102 as Donovan Mitchell dropped a 43-point game, and Davis' lack of presence was telling - especially in the fourth quarter. And James has opened up about how much Davis influences their results, claiming they have to change their whole game-plan when he's not there.
The Lakers have been on the climb recently, shaking off a woeful start to the season and turning things around. They're still on a 10-13 record after losing to the Cavaliers, but that's only their third loss in their last 11 NBA outings.
Their start to the season was one of the worst ever, as they held a 2-10 record before drastically turning their fortunes around. James is always at his brilliant best, but the improvement of Russell Westbrook has helped things, although there's been one clear factor that's driven them - Davis.
Davis has been in impeccable form, with even James looking to the no.3 at times in search of a response. Davis recorded 55 points against the Washington Wizards in their last game, and that followed on from a 44-point haul against the Milwaukee Bucks.
But Davis left the game early and the Lakers never really recovered, which James addressed in his post-game interview. James was asked how they responded when Davis couldn't return, and he said: "Next man up, but that's a tall task - both figuratively and literally.
"For what AD has been doing for us over the last few weeks, it was tough for us. When AD went out we had to switch up our whole game-plan from what we were trying to do. But we gave as much as we could."
Thomas Bryant came in to replace Davis, and James was impressed with his performance, but admitted that you "can't replace" the no.3. "Obviously that's what the team is for but you can't replace AD so everyone has to do a bit more," James added.
"They have to do their job at the highest capacity and the highest level they can do it, and live with the results." It's not known how long Davis will be out, if at all, but the fact it's not an injury is good news.
The Lakers next face the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night before taking on the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. The games as always continue to come thick and fast, and they'll be hoping to have Davis back as soon as possible.
