Los Angeles Lakers Preseason: Where Is LeBron James At So Far?

With the regular season almost over, how has LeBron James looked so far with the Los Angeles Lakers.?

The Los Angeles Lakers preseason is in full swing after battling the Clippers in Anaheim on Saturday night. LeBron James did not play (rest) and Lonzo Ball is still out (knee precautions) but that does not mean that the Lakers need to let down on the development of their offensive and defensive schemes.

Lake Show Life is going to take a look back at the first three preseason games with a bit of a twist. I want to show appreciation to the fans that have left me comments down below. I will show their comments in this piece and provide analysis based on their comment. Hopefully this will be a successful segment. That’s why I need the fans to keep checking in to Lake Show Life for all Los Angeles Lakers preseason updates leading into the regular season.

The Lakers preseason record is 1-2 leading into the game against the Clippers. They lost two games in three nights to the Denver Nuggets and rebounded with a win against the Sacramento Kings. Let’s summarize everything so far shall we?

LeBron James 

The Los Angeles Lakers preseason magic number has been 15…as in minutes. If you have been following along with the Lake Show Life previews, the phrase has been the same…

"“If the Lakers play LeBron James more than 20 minutes, somebody needs to be fired. Give him enough floor time to let the paying fans get a chance to see him and sit him down. One ankle turn or hamstring pull and the Lakers are one step to the lottery. They need James healthy for October…That’s it, end of story.”"

Well the Lakers have made sure James goes nowhere near that 20 minute mark. The most he has played in any preseason game has been 16 minutes in game three against the Kings. Since James did not play in the Clippers game, here’s some highlights to hold you over from all of the preseason games…

Nice hockey pass to Rondo who quickly dropped it off to JaVale McGee for the slam. Something the Lakers want to see. Quick ball movement with constant cutting from the players off the ball. With the Lakers playing small-ball exclusively this year…this is what the Lakers coaching staff is looking for in the half court.

This is the type of teamwork with LeBron James and Brandon Ingram is the future of the franchise. The Lakers had better continue to find situations to build the chemistry between these two. These are the best two players on the team…period.  This pairing can cover up a lot of flaws and multiple positions on the roster until Luke Walton figures it out. Both players need to spend a lot of time on the floor together. With the freakish athleticism of Brandon Ingram and the I.Q. of LeBron James this is what you get Lakers fans…

For the most part, LeBron James has been wildly efficient on the offensive end. Against the Kings, he could have easily scored 40 points considering he got to his spots with relative ease. he could cut back on the turnovers but that would be nitpicking at this point. Plus you can live with a couple of turnovers when he does this from time to time…

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1047323197849255936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1047323197849255936&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flakeshowlife.com%2F2018%2F10%2F03%2Flos-angeles-lakers-preseason-lakers-run-out-of-time-lose-113-111%2F

Looking forward however, there are questions surrounding James going forward. Even though we have seen dynamic things on the offensive end, not much was seen on the defensive end. It’s still early, but for this team to buy in fully to Luke Walton’s belly aching about the defensive lapses throughout the preseason, it will be up to James as the leader to commit fully to the defensive end and become a strong presence on the boards.

There were times throughout the preseason the Lakers struggled to get defensive rebounds and get their running game started. The defensive improvement overall starts with James. Everyone likes comparing LeBron to Michael Jordan, well when Jordan was in Chicago during the championship years, Jordan was the most dominant scorer in the NBA at the time, but fans forget he might have been the best defender as well. LeBron James will have to lead by example to show the young guys what it takes to commit of on the defensive end.

The Lakers have been trying to sell Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram on the back line at times with JaVale McGee during the preseason. In my opinion it has not worked. Ingram got into a ton of foul trouble and lost his rhythm and Kyle Kuzma struggled at times as well.

It’s not about talent here…it’s about the matchups. These guys are just not big enough or strong enough to play against some of these centers in the NBA. Nikola Jokic had a lot of fun against the Lakers…

Mason Plumlee looked like an All-NBA player playing the pick and roll…

Granted LeBron James had sat down for the night in both of these instances. That is understood, but if the Lakers are going to use this small ball scheme, LeBron James is going to have to go back to the Miami mentality and use his size and strength to sacrifice his body. This is easily one of the strongest players in the NBA. If the Lakers do not hit the free agent heap and look for a big man to back up JaVale McGee, it will be on LeBron James to step up and help out the back line…a lot.

Let’s check out a comment from the Lake Show Lifers…

"Luke here from the depths of Australia, I have been a huge fan of B.I since his college year and the fact he got picked by the lakers is icing on the cake for me. I’ve said it over n over this kid is special and will prove the doubters wrong. I am enjoying the progress in chemistry between B.I and LBJ in the 3 games I’ve watched. Minimum time together yes, but u can see it none the less and I’m loving it and the vast improvement I need B.I is Gr8!"

Thanks, Luke! What Luke mentions here is about the progress between LeBron James and Brandon Ingram. What we have seen is the chemistry on the offensive end. LeBron James can also help Ingram on the defensive end. In the second game against the Nuggets, Denver Nuggets head coach, Mike Malone found matchups that exposed Ingram down low. Ingram gets in foul trouble (five for the game) and never got into an offensive rhythm only scoring four points.

Against the Kings, Brandon stayed out of foul trouble which was caused by an adjustment in his position on the floor. Ingram was running the point which kept him out of the paint a lot on the defensive end.

It’s about placing Ingram in a place that he is effective. Thanks again Luke for checking out Lake Show Life!