One of JJ Redick’s most important changes since taking over as head coach of the Lakers has made Anthony Davis the “center” of the offense, write ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and Matt Williams. Davis is seeing more touches than ever, which has resulted in a dramatic increase in his production. He is averaging 30 points and 10 rebounds in nine games while shooting 55% from the field. Wilt Chamberlain as the only Laker to reach these marks.

“He did a good job of putting me in the right place to be successful,” Davis said of Redick. “My teammates have done a good job of giving me the ball where I feel most comfortable. Obviously they encourage me to try, but I still try to play the right way all the time.”

Davis’ increased involvement has taken away opportunities Le Bron Jamesthe authors add. Redick stations James off the ball more often, and his 24.8% usage rate would be the lowest of his career. He screens more often and gets the ball off screens as Redick tries to maintain James’ energy as he approaches his 40th birthday.

“We’re not going to rely on LeBron James’ ball in the fourth quarter,” Redick said. “For example, that is not who our identity will be. So I think it starts with what was presented to the team on the first day: here our identity is offensive; here our identity is defensive; and then your system should help emphasize those things. And so we have been very consciously working on that.”

There’s more from Los Angeles:

• Christian Koloko will be Lakers‘ backup center while Jaxson Hayes is sidelined with an ankle injury, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Koloko has only played in two games since being medically cleared to return to the NBA, but he will have a bigger role until Hayes is re-evaluated in a week or two. “Disappointed. Feel for Jaxson, especially after the last two games he had for us,” Redick said.
• In his Podcast P show, Paul George clarified comments he made Hair clippers fans during a recent visit to Los Angeles (Twitter video link). “I didn’t call the Clippers ‘the B team’” he declared. “I said it felt like the B-team because all over LA people are saying, ‘You should be a Laker.’ That wasn’t minimizing. … I was a Clipper. That’s who I chose to play for. I wasn’t comparing them or saying they were below the Lakers. It’s just how LA interprets that or how LA treats players that are in LA.”
• The Hair clippers made a change to their starting lineup tonight in Houston and replaced Terance Mann of Chris Dunnaccording to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link). Coach Tyron Lue said after the game that he plans to continue using the new setup (Twitter link).