The story from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss:
This is about the scoring title. LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo are percentage points apart.
At this point, analyzing the Los Angeles Lakers is impossible unless Frank Vogel is telling the truth about making adjustments based on the roster construction over his beliefs. This team is a narrative waiting to happen where every word is dissected.
Case in point, Stephen A. Smith had some thoughts on the March 22nd episode of Stephen A’s World about LeBron having fun these days…
"“The Lakers are the biggest disappointment of the 2022 season. But LeBron James; he says he’s having the time of his life, and to my knowledge, he’s not having the time of his life because he fell in love dancing at summer camp,” Smith said, referring to the classic film Dirty Dancing. “LeBron is having the time of his life because, well, I don’t know exactly. Maybe, he’s lost his damn mind, to be quite honest with you, because all this time, I thought LeBron James was about winning. … Personally, I thought LeBron James would be quite miserable playing on this particular Lakers team.”"
Not if he’s going for a scoring title he’s not. Any storyline that links LeBron or the Lakers to the internet is a wonderful thing. See going into this matchup LeBron was leading the NBA in scoring with 30 points per game. Joel Embiid is right behind him at 29.8 points per game. The Greek Freak is close as well, but he probably cares more about getting ready for the postseason at this point.
This game is the 19th missed by LeBron this season and he needs in the neighborhood of five or six games to QUALIFY for the title.
Sure, the Lakers needed LeBron to even have a shot to win this game and he had to know that. However, six days of rest could be a smart move considering there’s no chance the Lake Show will get out of the play-in tournament. Embiid needed 38 points in this game so LeBron keeps the top spot.
But don’t worry Lakers fans, if LeBron can be the youngest and oldest scoring champion in NBA history, he’ll be happy even though the Lakers have been bad all season.