With LeBron out, Lakers' Anthony Davis faces defining stretch of his career

With LeBron James expected to miss multiple weeks with an ankle injury, the pressure on the Los Angeles Lakers shifts to Anthony Davis. This could be the defining stretch of the 11-year veteran's career. 

Recently, during his All-Star weekend news conference, James told reporters the post-break stretch is "23 of the most important games of my career for the regular season." 

Since then, the Lakers are 2-0, including a game against Dallas in which they trailed by 27 points.

"My confidence is always high," Davis told the media following that win.

Los Angeles (29-32) finds itself a half-game out of the play-in tournament and 2.5 games out of sixth place. However, the Lakers—who play the second-place Grizzlies on Tuesday—are also just a half-game from falling back to 13th. 

The big question for Davis: Are the next 21 games the most important games of his regular-season career? 

In nine games this season without James, Davis averages 27.8 points, 15.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks and shoots 52% from the field. This is the Davis the Lakers need to withstand an extended absence by the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

Davis has never had to face this much pressure alone in a Lakers uniform. 

If he performs well and Los Angeles stays in playoff contention, Davis could get catapulted back into the category of top big men in the NBA along with Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid and Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokić. 

If Davis struggles and the Lakers fall back to 13th in the West, questions will arise about Davis and his ability to be a No. 1 option on a title team—the crown Los Angeles wants him to take from James. 

There's so much to be gained and lost for Davis in these next few weeks. Clearly, the pressure is on.