Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James loses the ball and the game, 4 lessons
By Ronald Agers
Lake Show Life warned the Los Angeles Lakers about the extent of LeBron’s injury. Now things could be worse.
On the last page of the Denver Nuggets post-game report, Lake Show Life wondered if LeBron’s groin injury was worse than reported.
If you pay attention to the games, you can plainly see that the man is hurt. With all of the load management talk and the sniping back and forth between the two franchises, it was a foregone conclusion that all the stars were going to play. But at what cost?
Let’s take a listen to Chris Broussard on First Things First on his take on the game.
"LeBron has to be better. The 2 games against the Clippers he hasn't been LeBron James. .... I don't need 12 three-pointers. I need him driving to the basket, posting up, pushing the ball in transition. If LeBron is himself, they do win that game." — @Chris_Broussard pic.twitter.com/LnXFtXMbB5
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) December 26, 2019
The bottom line, LeBron James is not himself. For the last week, he can’t drive past anyone. The explosion is gone based on the injury. It might have been one game too late, but according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN reports that some of the Lakers organization have already floated the idea of shutting it down for a while.
"Even though the Lakers are now riding a season-worst, four-game losing streak, several members of the organization already have approached James about the urgency to sit out and rehab his groin injury until he feels fully recovered, sources told ESPN."
This is not about the stats he accumulated, scoring 23 points on 9-for-24 shooting, with 10 assists and nine rebounds. It’s about the ability to be aggressive and get to the basket.
10 of the 15 misses were 3-point shots. The way he is playing now has reverted back to last year when James camped out on the wings and fired up step back shots from distance. LeBron James set a career-high with 10 misses from 3-point range.
The Lakers have a back-to-back this weekend playing the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, followed by the Dallas Mavericks at home on Sunday. LeBron James, who has brought the load management narrative back to life, had better figure something out.
The NBA season is a marathon and not a sprint. We all know the story about the tortoise and the hare. If the Clippers stay their course and win the NBA title, who’s the Mack here?
The Lakers, who made snide remarks about the Clippers dealings with Kawhi Leonard? Or the Clippers raising the Larry O’Brien trophy?
Speaking of Kawhi Leonard.