Los Angeles Lakers: 5 Reasons they may already have their "Big 3"

Los Angeles Lakers: 5 Reasons they may already have their “Big 3”

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 21: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans dunks the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 21, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

1. LeBron James is still in his prime

Contrary to plenty of recent reports, the rumors of LeBron James’ demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Mark Twain quips aside, LeBron did play at his usual otherworldly level this season, putting up 27.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game on 51 percent shooting. Also, he had a 58.8 true shooting percentage, which all line up pretty favorably with his career averages.

Even after returning from his groin injury, he regained his explosiveness and hops and continued to crush it. After the All-Star break he averaged 28.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and an impressive 9.8 assists a game while shooting over 50 percent from the field.

Some say that he’s now injury prone after that groin ailment, but he showed no signs of being that way during the stretch run of the season.

Sure, LeBron is 34 now, and his minutes and overall workload do need to be closely managed so that the Lakers can extend his prime as much as possible. But being joined by Anthony Davis and hopefully some very capable complementary players will go a long way towards helping him stay fresh and preventing him from feeling overworked.

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