LeBron was trying to get away from the Cleveland way…Maybe it was just Magic?
When Magic Johnson signed LeBron James to his four-year $154 million dollar contract in the summer, the original plan was for the Lakers to cut down on all of the constant ball handling responsibilities that LeBron James had in Cleveland.
Reportedly James was on board with all of this. It makes sense and the roster was created based on this understanding.
I wondered if LeBron James was going to hold up his end of the bargain in this piece here…
Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Hot takes for LeBron James in 2018-19
LeBron James begins a new era with the Los Angeles Lakers tomorrow night on the road against Portland.
I would recommend reading this article if you are new to Lake Show Life. If you’ve read it before, you might need a review.
It is common knowledge at this point that LeBron James’ teams are based on two different blueprints…
One…he needs shooters around him to kick the ball out to when he see fit when he drives the ball to the basket. Plus if the shooters are standing outside waiting for the ball, it doesn’t clog the lane for LeBron’s patented drives to the hoop.
Two…he likes to play with veterans that he trusts. Let’s take a look back to Miami with their version of the “Big three” with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. It’s easy to forget all of the veterans coming off the bench like Shane Battier, Ray Allen, Mike Miller just to name a few.
The Lakers team that was built by Magic Johnson is built-in a totally different philosophy. The signing of Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson with the addition of Lonzo Ball was to have a list of ball handlers and creators.
LeBron James is a nightmare in the post. Magic Johnson knows that and plus with James’ basketball I.Q. it will cut down on the wear and tear on his body and allow him to destroy his matchup in the post…
https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1054583803623104513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1054583803623104513&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flakeshowlife.com%2F2018%2F10%2F23%2Flos-angeles-lakers-5-takeaways-overtime-loss-spurs%2F
All of this changed with Rajon Rondo breaking a bone in his hand and being out for an extended period of time. Since then the Lakers offense has slowed down a bit.
The Lakers want to speed up the pace by playing good defense, rebounding the ball and running the fast break. Well, at least that’s what Magic Johnson envisioned. A lot of this was dependent on LeBron changing his game and mindset from the way things were in Cleveland.
Sure the Lakers have won 8 games in their last 11 as of this writing, but the change in James’ mindset has affected the offense.