The narrative that the Lakers are better without LeBron James is ridiculous.
Yes, the Lakers are 9-2 without him this season. And yes, they had their best win while he was sidelined Sunday for his second straight game because of left foot arthritis, a 110-97 victory over the Knicks.
Let’s start with the fact that the 41-year-old James is averaging 21.4 points on 50.4 percent shooting, 5.6 rebounds and 7 assists a game. Does that sound like a liability to you? Even in his 23rd season, James is still one of the top players in the NBA, creating a mismatch for most defenders.
The issue is when James is on the court with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, there’s too much deferring and not enough defense.
But that’s a coaching problem. It’s a buy-in problem. It’s not a James problem.
It’s obvious that Doncic is the Lakers’ No. 1 option. Reaves needs to be No. 2. When James missed the first 14 games of the season because of sciatica, Reaves looked like an All-Star. He was a top-10 scorer in the league. But when the three players have shared the court, Reaves has been way less aggressive.
Reaves needs to figure out a way to have an attack mentality while sharing the court with arguably the greatest player of all-time in James, as well as one of the top-five current players in Doncic.
James is an asset. He would be an asset on any team. No one is denying that. The issue is how everyone is being used.
Before the All-Star break, James, Doncic and Reaves had only played 11 games together. Incrementally, they’ve started finding their rhythm since then. They need to build off that.
Perhaps it means James playing off-ball, focusing on playmaking and taking advantage of mismatches. Perhaps it means Reaves seeing himself as a max contract player regardless of who he’s playing alongside. Perhaps it means Doncic playing more defense.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
