After being defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James had some praise for head coach Luke Walton.
On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to pick up one of their most notable wins of the season against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Even though the Cavaliers were short-handed, beating James is always a good thing for a team.
In the game, James played very well as expected, but so did the Lakers. Julius Randle was able to lead the way for the Lakers with 36 points, which was a new career-high. In addition to Randle’s great game, the Lakers also had performances come from Brook Lopez and Isaiah Thomas.
After the game, James praised head coach Luke Walton for the job that he is doing with this young Lakers team. Here’s what he had to say to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
"“Since Luke (Walton) took over they’ve improved every single season and you just try to implement that,” James said of the Lakers after the game, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. “That ball movement, that body movement that he had when he was in Golden State.”"
Seeing Walton get praised by James is certainly gratifying coming from one of the top players in the league. With James being a free agent, his praise for Walton and recognizing that the Lakers are improving will certainly cause a stir.
While Los Angeles does offer a lot for potential free agents, having a good team is still likely the most important thing for James. Seeing how the Lakers will certainly be pursuing James this offseason, showing development will be crucial for that.
In addition to James praising Walton, one of the other things that he mentioned was the style of play the Lakers have. As we have seen this season, the Lakers are able to play fast and move the ball quite nicely. While they don’t have the talent that the Warriors do, you can see similarities between their offenses.
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Even though the Lakers likely won’t make the playoffs this season, they have been able to prove that they are improving. When a player like James notices that the franchise is getting better, that is certainly a good sign for the Lakers.