3 Lessons in a weekend of Los Angeles Lakers back to back games
By Ronald Agers
LeBron James was the best player on the roster by far this weekend.
To be clear here, the Los Angeles Lakers as a whole was absolutely putrid against the Memphis Grizzlies. LeBron James by himself showed a lot of heart. He didn’t quit. Something that Lake Show Life tends to criticize him for. His defensive performance last year in Memphis around this time last year was so bad, the video seemingly turned into a reality show series.
But in this game, LeBron competed for the 34 minutes he was on the floor. He finished with a team-high in points (19) and assists (10) while grabbing eight rebounds.
Sometimes things don’t work out and everybody in the NBA can play. LeBron James just didn’t have the help to push the Lakers over the top.
Who cares, right? Let’s talk about the next night in the Big Easy.
LeBron James hears the talk about Zion Williamson. He knows the excitement that the youngster is bringing to the NBA. This series here shows how much Zion is in LeBron’s head low-key.
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1234300361797554177
We could talk about how Zion abused Kyle Kuzma in the post, but who can stop him. Kuz showed a lot of heart just trying to stop him in the post. But the crowd went insane after Williamson threw it down with so much force. But look at the distance from where LeBron shot this 3-point shot. Two to three steps in from half court? Dunks are nice, but analytics show LeBron’s shot is worth more.
In 36 minutes without AD, James tallied 34 points to go along with 10 rebounds, 13 assists and two steals. That adds up to 13 triple-doubles this season. James is now tied with Luka Doncic for the most triple-doubles in the NBA.
Lake Show Life believes that LeBron James had to be a better closer this year for the Los Angeles Lakers to be a true contender. Well?
https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1234320483199270912
Not yet, Zion. The message was sent from LeBron with this shot. James closed out the game scoring 13 points, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out three assists in the last frame. Many NBA experts are talking about who will replace LeBron but should they?
LeBron James is averaging a 30 point triple-double against Zion Williamson, Trae Young and Luka Doncic. The King is in his 17th year, enjoy the ride while it lasts NBA fans, this level of play hasn’t been done before from players 15 years on.