Los Angeles Lakers season saved by Rajon Rondo, sink Boston Celtics

LeBron James will now be known as the barometer of this team going forward

Whether LeBron James had a slow start based on getting his body back in basketball shape or he is still trying to figure out where he fits in with the offense, it is getting clear that the energy of the Lakers roster will depend on how James plays.

If he comes out without the energy required to lead like he’s supposed to…Well, we’ve all seen the worst, haven’t we?

His energy was low for the first two quarters and the Lakers struggled. In the last two quarters, he picked up his level of play and the Lakers followed (Specifically Kyle Kuzma) to a 42 point 3rd quarter to race past Boston and eliminate the huge deficit.

LeBron James notched his 77th career triple-double, scoring 28 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out 12 assists.

Many times this year, Lake Show Life post game reports criticize LeBron James not performing late when the team needed it most. That was not the case in this game. One of his 3-pointers came at a critical time in the game with the Lakers down six with less than a minute to go in the game. 

It’s not difficult to read if LeBron James is engaged in the game or not.

Most of the time if he can get a really nice highlight dunk, or a real long shot from distance James can really coast along and check out of games mentally. He didn’t in this game and the Lakers pulled off an improbable win because of it.

This one play showed sacrifice and leadership. LeBron was close to dribbling the ball out-of-bounds but yet hustled to get the save and hustled to get a shot off in the corner. Plus, he was willing to take the shot in rhythm instead of passing up the shot. Numerous times during the season, most would have seen LeBron sulk and not give that type of extra effort.

This play alone saved the game for the Lakers. If the ball goes out-of-bounds, there are no Rajon Rondo fireworks.

Speaking of the man of the hour.