Lakers' LeBron James on Carmelo Anthony's 3-Point Shooting vs. Cavs: 'He Is a Sniper'

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James praised teammate Carmelo Anthony for helping spread the floor by knocking down six threes in the team's 113-101 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

James described Anthony, who scored 24 points in 25 minutes, as a "threat" who opens up the game for the rest of the Lakers' marquee players, including Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis.

"He is a sniper—we call in our league guys that don't need much air space to get it off because there's a quick trigger," James told reporters. "It creates so much space for myself, Russ and A.D. to work our pick-and-roll magic."

Anthony, a 10-time All-Star who signed a modest one-year, $2.6 million contract in August to chase a championship with L.A., is enjoying a strong start as the team's sixth man.

The 37-year-old Syracuse product is averaging 15.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.2 threes through six appearances. He's shooting 48.5 percent from the field, 50.0 percent on threes and 90.0 percent on free throws.

Melo struggled during his initial transformation from a go-to scorer, which he was for the first 14 years of his career with the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks, to a role player. That led to short, unsuccessful stints with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets.

The 2012-13 NBA scoring champion started to find a groove over the past two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, however, and now he's seemingly found a comfort zone as a complementary offensive weapon off the bench for the Lakers.

Anthony discussed that role with Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet after his strong outing against the Cavs:

The New York City native also drew praise from Lakers head coach Frank Vogel after the team improved its early-season record to 3-3.

"He's one of the best in the league. He's a professional scorer throughout his career," Vogel said. "To his credit, he's really made a transition to be an elite catch-and-shoot guy that has good size that can shoot with a hand in his face. 6-for-8 from three, a lot of huge buckets, a big part of the win."

While the sample size is small, the veteran forward is already throwing his hat in the ring as a potential Sixth Man of the Year contender.

Anthony and the Lakers, who've won three of their past four games after an 0-2 start, will look to continue their upward trend when they host the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.