Quite literally, no one has more NBA experience under their belt than LeBron James. When disaster struck, and the Los Angeles Lakers were robbed of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves for the immediate future, they still had their graying G.O.A.T. to turn to.
Game 2 was a great example of how important having that 41-year-old insurance policy is. James found openings and led the Lakers to a tight 101-94 win over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night. LeBron finished with a game-high 28 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in the win.
Having that reliable of a presence, after all the chaos, matters a ton to this Lakers team. Marcus Smart did a great job of reminding everyone just how much Los Angeles depends on their future Hall of Famer.
"His IQ of the game, he picks his spots very well, and he stays very poised. There's times where you see things starting to get out of control, and he's still calm. That's what happens when you know you've been in this league for 23 years doing what he does. ... So, we appreciate him."
LeBron James is the calm in the middle of a rampant Lakers storm
When the injuries to Doncic and Reaves happened, James brought the group together. Dave McMenamin recently reported on ESPN that LeBron immediately jumped into the leader role for Los Angeles when they needed him most.
McMenamin's sources told him the messaging was clear: James was going to take care of his job and he was asking everyone else to take care of theirs. That was how the Lakers were going to manage and be okay as they await the returns of Reaves and Doncic.
So far, both ends of that equation have been satisfied.
James has enjoyed back-to-back outings of vintage LeBron, starring as the leading man. The Lakers, for their part, have followed.
Game 1 featured a balanced scoring effort from the starters with each of them posting double digits as James dished out the rock left, right, and center. Game 2 was a different trio leading the way than the typical Doncic, Reaves, and James. Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard both stepped up and combined for 48 points to support LeBron in an ugly win.
Just like that, the undermanned Lakers are up 2-0 in a first-round series against the Rockets where most counted them out from the jump. Houston does indeed have a problem. That problem is Los Angeles refusing to go out quietly while they have LeBron leading the way.
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