With the NBA season finally here for the Los Angeles Lakers, here are four hot takes for LeBron James this season.
Finally the regular season is here for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers! Gone are the conspiracy articles about free agency and second guessing rosters. The Lakers suit up for the first time in the LeBron James era against the Portland Trail Blazers on TNT at 10:30. Now that everything counts, we get to really see what the front office consisting of Magic Johnson, Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss had in mind building this roster. But let’s be clear here…every story that surrounds the Lakers this year will have LeBron James somewhere in it somehow.
Which leads to the question? With all of the attention surrounding LeBron James playing off the ball more, the positionless basketball, the roster…what does the future look like for LeBron James based on his body of work over the last 15 years? Well that will be laid out in the Hot Takes for LeBron this 2018-19 season.
This is not about LeBron James’ preseason! For the most part, James played a perfect preseason basketball wise…
He got some court work in with Lonzo Ball…
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1050225232366133249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1050225232366133249&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flakeshowlife.com%2F2018%2F10%2F11%2Flos-angeles-lakers-takeaways-123-113-preseason-win-warriors%2F
Found some nice chemistry with Brandon Ingram…
LeBron finds Brandon Ingram for another easy dunk. I know it’s preseason, but it’s interesting to see LBJ and BI have early chemistry.pic.twitter.com/IgbtRqPFKF
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/YahooSportsNBA/status/1046580285561663489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1046580285561663489&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flakeshowlife.com%2F2018%2F10%2F01%2Flos-angeles-lakers-takeaways-first-preseason-game-vs-denver-nuggets%2F
…and finally! Well you know…
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
With that being said…this piece is not for the first game. This is not for next week. This piece is about showing things that Los Angeles Lakers fans should be on the lookout for going forward in the next 82 games with an option for four more if they qualify.
Welcome Los Angeles Lakers fans to…LeBron James’s Hot takes of the 2018-19 season.
LeBron James Hot Take Number one…Luke Walton’s relationship and the effects!
Here’s a nice LeBron James fun fact for Lakers fans…Luke Walton and LeBron James were drafted the same year way back in 2003. They were teammates in Cleveland during James’ first tenure in Cleveland. LeBron was the superstar while Walton was so far down on the bench he had to watch the game on NBA League Pass. Now the dynamics have changed. Back then it was James running the team (click on the story below for that…), now it is Walton running the team. Or is he?
LeBron James: his storied history with his coaches!
All LeBron James talk is of his contract, new teammates and expectations. What about the coach. Ronald Agers looks at all of the LeBron/coach relationships.
The NBA is a players league. Their names are on the marquee. Fans come to see them play. If you think coaches are not replaceable, just carry a short conversation with Dwane Casey, the reigning NBA’s Coach of the Year who got fired from the Toronto Raptors after setting an franchise regular season record in wins last year. Oh by the way, he was replaced by a coach who had ZERO head coaching experience. This is under normal circumstances.
LeBron James is the face of the entire NBA right now, not just the Los Angeles Lakers. I see it very difficult for James to look at Luke Walton as a “supervisor” (because if you look at the hierarchy of the Lakers he is…) after…
–Leading eight straight teams to the NBA Finals
plus…
–based on their past relationship in Cleveland, LeBron James may not see Walton as his peer subconsciously.
If you have watched the preseason games, notice that he spends more time chatting it up with Rajon Rondo than Luke Walton. Granted Walton is into the game, and busy coaching, but this is something that needs to be watched. LeBron James probably can forget more basketball knowledge than 85 percent of what today’s NBA players know in full.
Rajon Rondo is probably the only one on the Lakers that can match James in the knowledge column. You can see that they are creating a positive relationship based on mutual respect. You can never go fully on what LeBron James say in the media because he is much too savvy to say the wrong thing to bring drama to himself. You have to read the body language. LeBron James is notorious for his passive-aggressive behavior. Perks do go with being the best player on the team (and possibly the NBA). Hopefully James is communicating as well with Walton as well as he is with Rondo, because…
If LeBron James does not partner up with Walton and come to an understanding, the young guys are watching and will have to pick sides. Rajon Rondo alone is a handful to deal with when things are not going well and he loses confidence in a coach (Fred Hoiberg, Rick Carlisle comes to mind), think about if he and James get tired of hearing Walton’s voice! If you are Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram or even Josh Hart…Who do you think they’re going to follow? The most powerful player in the NBA or the coach?
If you don’t think that this is an issue…well, click on that article above and enjoy!
LeBron James Hot Take Number Two…Will James play the five spot long term?
There are two realities here that bring this possibility to fruition.
Number one, the Lakers are sorely lacking on the back end at the four and the five. JaVale McGee has been a back up for the past few years with the Golden State Warriors. During his tenure, there were a number of DNP-CDs in his box score. Overall McGee hasn’t averaged over 15 minutes in YEARS! This is the guy that the Lakers are hitching their wagons to this season?
If that was the case, LeBron James would not even be close this conversation…but he is.
Number two, LeBron James is the strongest player on the team! I mean this isn’t even close. Strength wise, there is no comparison.
But what does that mean?
LeBron James strolls into his 16th year in the NBA with about a million miles in the tank seemingly in usage rate. The Lakers have promised the same scenario of reducing the workload of LeBron James this season.
Question? You want to reduce the workload, but you’re asking LeBron James to lean against the likes of possibly Nikola Jokic, DeAndre Jordan, Marcin Gortat or maybe even Jusuf Nurkic. With this positionless basketball the Lakers want to play, I don’t even want to get into talking about Clint Capela. Let’s go back to his years in Miami when he balked at times at playing the power forward position. Now you are asking for him to play center? Long term?
On paper, this works. There is no one on planet earth that can stop LeBron James in the post, however, the amount of energy that is required to play the back line contradicts the workload reducing scenario because he will work even harder at times playing defense against the bigger players while still helping initiate the offense.
Something to definitely watch around 25-30 games into the season.
LeBron James Hot Take Number Three…Will LeBron James Play Defense?
The Lakers front office brought in guys that will compete and can do multiple things. Defense has not been shown much in the preseason…Let me repeat what I said prior about LeBron James and his commitment to defense…
"“Granted LeBron James was sitting 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.”"
Here are the instances that I’m talking about…
A thing happened in Chicago and Mase is 11-for-11.#MileHighBasketball https://t.co/OOSMVXmxKd
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) October 3, 2018
In this game against the Nuggets, the Lakers got smashed in the head time and time again playing the pick and roll. Look at the dribble penetration drawing Zubac forward. What you don’t see is Plumlee rolling to the basket for the dunk. If you have the sound up you hear Reggie Miller say AGAIN!
Why? Because this happened multiple times. LeBron James’ knowledge of the game will be paramount on this end of the floor. It starts here! Communication will be important to improve in this area. The defensive rotations have to be there. Like this example against the Clippers…
https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1048763200634728451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1048763200634728451&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flakeshowlife.com%2F2018%2F10%2F08%2Flos-angeles-lakers-preseason-clippers-win-battle-of-l-a-103-87%2F
Josh Hart allows penetration to Lou Williams on the baseline which will bring Kyle Kuzma away from the basket to provide support. Lance falls asleep at the rim and rotation is late. Harrell does what he’s supposed to do and goes to the rim. Then he gets the slip pass and it’s a easy dunk for the Clippers.
LeBron James will have to do what Draymond Green does for the champs. Call out defensive rotations and cover up mistakes for the guards inside. If you don’t think that’s important, remember he didn’t play the preseason games against the Lakers…how did they look?
LeBron James Hot Take Number Four…Will LeBron James Be Patient?
LeBron James said in all of his quotes up to this point that he will be patient and wait for things to work itself out. Anyone believe him? I don’t.
Look folks, LeBron James has had a TON of success in all of his NBA Finals runs that has totaled eight years. That’s a lot of winning folks. This is a big Catch 22 here.
The Lakers have built their foundation winning…a lot. But this team is not built for winning titles. This team is in the middle of a major overhaul from the previous regime.
In Cleveland, we’ve seen James complain quite loudly when the team was at the top of the conference. What do you think he’s going to do hovering around .500 for the next two months which is a reality in the Western Conference.
Father Time is still undefeated but James has been his toughest opponent in NBA history. Outside of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Kobe Bryant, no one has been as effective in their 16th season as LeBron James. Time is ticking!
Plus this is a new situation for LeBron. Since leaving Cleveland for Miami, his teams have been tailor made for his talents along with superstars and veterans who could be counted on in crunch time.
In Miami, not only did LeBron James have superstar players like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh who new the game well enough to adjust to playing off the ball, but there were players like Mike Miller, Ray Allen and Shane Battier who James trusted when times were tough.
The second tenure in Cleveland had Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love set up for him. But on the fringes the team had a veteran bench to back him up in J.R. Smith, and Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye.
Are the young guys ready to deal with the spotlight and James’ frustrations when things get rough? We will see.
The Los Angeles Lakers have started their long journey through the NBA season. Lake Show Life will be there every step of the way. Continue to check in for Lakers news, previews and reviews.