Los Angeles Lakers: 3 things the Lakers need to do to take care of business

1. Lebron James. *and Anthony Davis

Triple-double numbers are nothing new for LeBron James. His latest installment Monday was just as gaudy as ever, a full-on marvel whirlwind of his superior basketball talent and IQ: 23 points, 17 rebounds, 16 assists.

You know you’re special when your board and assist numbers nearly match up with a plus-20 scoring output.

Nonetheless, get this: the King has to do more if he wants to lay claim to his rightful place on the throne with full jurisdiction over the hoops landscape.

That improvement must come in the form of a substantial chemistry boost with one player and one player only: Anthony Davis.

While James still serves as the quintessential ball-dominant go-to man that will have pioneering duties in running the show for Hollywood’s most star-studded sports cast, Davis is the hyperdrive fuel that must ultimately get them over the hump if their title dreams are to be realized.

Davis was a demolition man through his first few escapades with his new team after joining Tinseltown’s finest last summer and even had rumblings of a potential MVP tabbing as he ran roughshod through the league. He and James cruised through their first 63 contests together with a comfortable ease that reeked of a beckoning celebratory ring ceremony for the two for years to come.

But there aren’t enough group Taco Tuesday’s and backyard BBQ summer nights that can be had in the universe for the two to build enough camaraderie that can substantiate as a replacement for the brightest of all the lights: playoff basketball.

And playoff basketball seems to have gotten the best of Davis.

Despite leading the foray with 28 points (12 which came from the charity stripe) eye-tests revealed Davis’ shaky confidence throughout the parlay. He was bombarded with ferocious double-teams with Lebron off of the floor, and an 8-of-24 line shooting-wise oozed of inherent inconsistency.

Portland was more than happy to concede 3-point attempts to the stretch four, and for good reason: he’s failed to convert on his last 13 tries from deep.

Inside faring was not much smoother for Davis, and while he’s normally a near-guaranteed bucket from close range (73.5 percent in the restricted area vs. 40.1 elsewhere in the lane paint), the Terry Stotts-employed gruff tandem of Jusuf Nurkic and Hassan Whiteside (five blocks) down low was more than enough to dissuade his usual supremacy down low.

The James-Davis tandem has strayed far from the pick-and-roll stalwart duo that gave opposing coaches sleeping fits, and they’ve succumbed to a -61 rating through 169 on-court minutes together in the NBA bubble.

As far as Lebron is concerned, early trends will be a telltale sign in Game 2 as to whether or not he’ll be able to employ the pass-first strategy he tried to rely so heavily on in the first. The Blazers were basically daring him and his Los Angeles Lakers to beat them from beyond the arc, and with Davis clogging up virtual garbage space on the floor as an unimposing 3-point presence, James may be forced to turn his focus inward – to both scoring from the paint, and to his own fumigated efforts as a whole.

The series has all the makings to turn into a one-man, Bron-banded wrecking crew. That, however, will be solely up to the King’s discretion.