Los Angeles Lakers: Three Lessons from a near collapse vs. Mavericks

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 31: JaVale McGee #7 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks the ball against the Dallas Mavericks on October 31, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 31: JaVale McGee #7 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks the ball against the Dallas Mavericks on October 31, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)

No.3 LeBron James almost did it again

LeBron James padded those stats again, scoring 29 points. grabbing five rebounds and dishing out six assists. I mean he was great…for about three and a half quarters…

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1057868839596175360

I mean if you look at the highlights, he looked good. Flash and dash. Only problem was after that layup with 4:17 left. He disappeared…again.

The Lakers were hit with a 17-4 run with defense that was lazy to be kind. J.J. Barea and Luka Doncic led a furious comeback which fueled by horrid  defensive lapses. Yes, LeBron James was at the head of the line making defensive mistakes. He allowed Doncic to get started with a three pointer in his face and worse giving up a three to Harrison Barnes in the corner.

This is the same mistake when he gave up the three pointer to P.J. Tucker in the Houston game in crunch time.

He took bad shots and the Lakers did not score a field goal until the infamous free throw to win it.

The difference between this close game and the others was the superstars from the other teams executed down the stretch. Dallas does not have any superstars on their team unless you want to count Luka Doncic. He’s a rookie, so you get my point.

Wesley Matthews’ foul still has me baffled so you have to know that other NBA teams are not going to do this.

If you were surprised that LeBron James missed one of the free throws…don’t be.

You see James shoots less that 50 percent for the line in close games. One out of two…par for the course. But it’s Halloween so he thought the crowd needed a scare.

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.