Los Angeles Lakers: 5 Lessons from win over Golden State Warriors
By Ronald Agers
What did LeBron James accomplish before he got hurt?
In 21 minutes, LeBron James did what superstars are supposed to do when the lights are brightest.
He came out early and set the tone and led the Lakers to this victory. He was aggressive on defense and scored within the offense where the ball movement was outstanding. The Warriors missed 12 straight 3 point shots in the first half!
Up until his injury, the Lakers were in complete control of the game up to that point withstanding a Golden State run here and there…
https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1077786079338655745
LeBron James finished the game with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. I hear announcers say all the time that LeBron James has made a lot of money for players over his career. Well you can definitely put Ivica Zubac next in line for some major money. These two have absolutely at times worn out defenses over the last three games in the pick and roll offense…
LeBron finds Zu for the slam!#LakeShow (📺: ABC & ESPN) pic.twitter.com/jyvPddCQ6l
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 26, 2018
Watch how LeBron James crosses Kevin Durant over with the dribble and take the ball strong to the basket. Draymond Green, who is defending Zubac has to rotate over to give help. Ivica sees this and goes straight to the basket as LeBron deftly dishes the ball over to him for the easy basket.
With LeBron James, it is not about stats that is important as is the energy and focus. LeBron came out from the locker room ready to impose his will on this game. The Lakers need this type of effort from him to be successful going forward.
But let’s get to the important stuff…
LeBron said he "felt a pop" before heading back to the locker room for further evaluation. (via @mcten) pic.twitter.com/ZjCmuGbx86
— ESPN (@espn) December 26, 2018
As you see the play right here, James said that he heard a pop, before leaving the floor. It is not like the Lakers really needed him. Sure there was a Warriors run, but somebody on the roster had no problems picking up the slack and taking over the game.
There will be some NBA fans that will look at the Lakers performance against Golden State and try to diminish the importance of LeBron James.
These people have no clue. The Lakers need this guy back in the lineup as soon as possible. LeBron had better stats in the last game against Memphis, but dominated this game before he got hurt. Numbers do not tell the story with LeBron James…
The energy does. Hope the injury is not serious LeBron. Get healthy and back on the court.
The Lakers need you.
I mentioned someone taking over when LeBron James got hurt, want to meet him?