Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James adds Atlanta to the “Revenge Season” Tour, 4 lessons!

Lake Show Life shows why this game for the Los Angeles Lakers in Atlanta was circled on LeBron James’ “Revenge Season” Tour with four lessons learned along the way.

LeBron James was embarrassed by Trae Young the last time the Los Angeles Lakers played in Atlanta. Young nutmegged LeBron twice last year. Well, LeBron did some nutmegging of his own while lighting up the Hawks from distance.

Man, what a difference a season makes for the Los Angeles Lakers and their fanbase. Last year, the Lakers were in Atlanta to play their last game before the All-Star break. Their season was slipping away by the eye test, but mathematically and theoretically they were still in the hunt. But looking back, the season was going down the tubes.

1. They had lost out on their chase to get Anthony Davis.
2. LeBron had shut down at this point and didn’t care.
3. The locker room was an absolute mess from the trade rumors.
4. The Lake Show Life staff were making bets on when Luke Walton was going to be fired.

By this time, most fans had caught on to a fact that Lake Show Life knew since the first game of the season, LeBron James didn’t play a lick of defense. Trae Young nutmegged LeBron on two separate occasions.

Well, it’s been a long time since those days. A few things have changed since that horrific loss to the Hawks.

1. The Los Angeles Lakers got Anthony Davis in a trade.
2. LeBron James is thoroughly engaged and really cares.
3. Most of the locker room that was a mess got traded for Anthony Davis.
4. Luke Walton was replaced with the reigning NBA Coach of the Month, Frank Vogel because he got fired. 

It’s amazing how circumstances can change with different resources and vision. LeBron James and nutmeg are still in the same sentence but in a totally different outcome.

Cue the Kenny Smith (From TNT’s Inside the NBA) voice for “SUPERMAN IS IN THE BUILDING!”

What was funny about this play, was the arena erupted and Rajon Rondo ran down the floor beside LeBron and bumped into a referee. Only one problem, he wasn’t in the game at the time and got a technical foul. Remember the Gatorade “Be Like Mike” commercials? I guess Rondo wanted to be like LeBron. 

If there are any stragglers that don’t believe that the “Revenge Season” exists, this is the last chance to get on the bandwagon. LeBron James put on a show and put the team on his back. More on him in a bit.

There is starting to be an issue with the listlessness of the Lakers on Sunday games. Last year, they almost lost them all and this year has been uneven at best. They looked past the short-handed Atlanta Hawks and almost got burned. Almost.

The Lakers have had a steady diet of bad team beatdowns. They almost choked against the Hawks, winning 101-96. The Lakers still are undefeated outside of the state of California winning their 14th consecutive game on the road. Outside of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it was ugly.

The team set a season-high in turnovers with 22. If this happens later on this week, the streak will end. The Indiana Pacers’ success is built on defense and Milwaukee? They have that dude that won the MVP last year.

Trae Young almost sent a limo for the Lakers dropping 30 points in the game, but his teammates got shut down as they shot poorly down the stretch from deep. Cam Reddish had a chance to tie the game but bricked a 3-point shot. LeBron didn’t even close out (Smart move! Reddish shoots 27% from distance and 32% from the field overall!).

Let’s get to Lake Show Life Lessons!