Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Lessons from loss to the Memphis Grizzlies
By Ronald Agers
LeBron James filled the stat sheets…Okay!…AND?
How did LeBron James do in this game? Well it depends on what you define as a good game. LeBron James scored 22 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out 4 assists. However let me remind everyone of a question I ask every time the Lakers lose winnable games like these…
https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1077073887026864128
"Are you the fan that likes to win… …or are you the type of fan that wants to be entertained and happy because you are a LeBron James fan? Well if you are just a fan that thinks LeBron James is the best player in the world and consistently complains that the Golden State Warriors are a super team…"
Now think fast because you know who the Lakers play next right? Uh huh, the Golden State Warriors.
The Los Angeles Lakers are now past 30 games and the consistency issues are still there. This is where LeBron James has to make his presence felt and take the game over when the team needs it.
Like in this game.
Sure, LeBron James had his stat line filled up, but let’s go a little bit deeper shall we? LeBron James is the “Best Player in the World”. How many superstars do you know shoot the ball two times in a half that is not injured or in foul trouble?
That’s the point.
LeBron James was not aggressive in this game and did not set the tone. That is the job of the team’s best player. There is a concept that the Lakers are going to have to understand. For 82 games, this team will have opponents geared up to compete BECAUSE of LeBron James’ presence.
Plus LeBron James has to be the most dominant player on the floor…Period!
This cannot happen…
https://twitter.com/memgrizz/status/1077067231169794048
In the 4th quarter, the Lakers were in a close game and the Memphis Grizzlies took the game over knocking down big shots. Let’s go through the checklist…
"If he is the best player on the court, the last eight minutes is when he has to impose his will and lead his team to victory. He has to be as dominant or more so at THIS time in the game. This game was winnable but a scenario that Lakers fans need to watch throughout the season occurred. LeBron James played well enough to fill stat sheets, but not well enough to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to victory."
Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Garrett Temple and Jaren Jackson all hit timely shots. To be clear here, some of these shots were difficult but they were also because of bad rotations and reads on defense. As you can see in the video, LeBron was caught in the hand down…man down scenario as well.
"The Lakers NEED LeBron James to take on this mentality. When the game is on the line and close, he needs to take over and make plays. He needs to be aggressive! If he is passive and do not do what stars are supposed to do to close out games. Sunday’s game was winnable. LeBron did not take advantage."
LeBron James took 14 shots in this game. That is not enough for the Lakers to be contenders in the Western Conference…period. To become the team that the Lakers are aspiring to be, they have to beat mediocre teams. Something that the Lakers have struggled with all season.
Fair or not…this falls on LeBron James. The point!
"Superstars close games. Who’s the closer for the Los Angeles Lakers? They paid LeBron James $154 million dollars to do it. Where’s the production? Stat sheets don’t win games. Leadership and coming through in the clutch does. LeBron James did neither!"
In the last five minutes, LeBron James had a tip in to give the Lakers a 89-88 lead. After that, LeBron hit two free throws and a long 3 pointer. He scored one more basket, but that was when the game was basically over. It’s just not enough.