Los Angeles Lakers’ things to keep an eye on: 3. How LeBron James responds to the hiatus
LeBron James is a physical specimen and there is nothing that anyone can say to really refute that claim. He is one of the most athletic athletes in the history of American sports and continues to do things at his age that most guys simply don’t do.
He certainly has been staying in great physical shape during the offseason with his countless Instagram stories of him working out. There should be no concerns of him not being in great physical shape once the season resumes.
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However, he still is at a bit of a disadvantage as he was in great form heading down the stretch of the year, arguably peaking in the last few weeks of the season after the All-Star Break, and was forced to sit on the sideline for four months and then simply pick it back up.
It is going to be a learning curve for every player in the league but LeBron is at a bit of a disadvantage because of his age. It takes a bit more for an older LeBron to get back into the swing of things.
He will still be great, without a doubt, but the Lakers are going to need the best version of LeBron to get through the gauntlet of the Clippers and Bucks. And unfortunately, we won’t know exactly how close he is to his best version until we see him live in action in those eight games.
In his four October games to start the season this year, he averaged 23.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 9.5 assists while shooting 48.6 percent. All great numbers, but all lower than what his overall averages are for the season.
This is truly unprecedented and while we can bring October numbers into the fold, we truly have no idea how LeBron will fare until July 31.