LeBron James played some inspired basketball and it almost led to an upset!
To say that LeBron James has faced a lot of criticism these days is an understatement. Lake Show Life has been consistent all season long with the effort at times during the season.
When LeBron James talked to Yahoo! Sports Chris Haynes, he doesn’t seem to mind…
"“I really don’t care. Criticism doesn’t bother me…” “So if [teams are] switching out on me with a guard and me having to try to get a stop, I mean, guys, they’re going to score. These are NBA players. I just try to make it tough on them. I tried to make it tough on Julius [Randle] all night, and obviously he was a monster [with a game-high 35 points], but I tried to make it tough on Jrue as well. To be able to get that stop for our team and then be able to make that shot for our team, that’s motivating for me. That’s all that matters to me.”"
Okay cool…wink, wink, nod and the finger gun. But the video of his defense against the Memphis Grizzlies was seen so much, you would have thought the NBA was piloting it for a television series. Ever since then, all eyes have been on LeBron James’ defensive prowess, or lack thereof.
It even was reported that other teams were targeting him on the defensive end. LeBron had something to say about that too.
"“I mean, every team has the right if they want to single me out defensively. Come on with it,” James told Yahoo Sports. “Hey, listen, come on with it. Every team has the right to be like, ‘Oh, ’Bron’s over there.’ Hey, just come on with it. … We’ll see what happens.”"
On behalf of Lake Show Life, LeBron, we all wish you good luck holding yourself to the standard of those comments.
He did in this game. He rendered Brook Lopez into a liability and did well overall in this game. LeBron James scored 31 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out seven assists. He knocked down his 3-pointers at timely moments in the game and one of them put the Lakers up one with about three minutes to go.
Oh, and he did this too.
Clean up on aisle 2️⃣3️⃣#LakeShow (📺: @SpectrumSN & ESPN) pic.twitter.com/8psloFxAcy
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 2, 2019
LeBron James may no longer be the best player in the world, but not many players in the world can accomplish this. It was an amazing play and the crowd went absolutely nuts.
But it was not about the highlights in this game for LeBron. He actually competed. Truth be told, he was probably embarrassed by the bad losses and quotes that were turning into running jokes in the media. The “activation mode” did not go over well. The questioning of his teammates was worse.
Now that there are statements that Giannis has taken his spot at the top of the NBA food chain, LeBron had something to prove.
Now LeBron James has to play like this and better for say, 20 more games?