There’s little that Lakers star LeBron James has not done in the past on an NBA floor. He has led the league in scoring, he has led the league in assists. He’d been the top shot-maker in the league–six times he has led in shots made–and he is, of course, the NBA’s all-time leader in scoring, points, minutes, shots made, shots attempted and playoff appearances. Debate all you want on LeBron vs. Michael Jordan, but there’s no doubt that no player has done it as well as James for as long.
But what’s been interesting over the past month or so for the Lakers and James is a shift in his approach and his role. Alongside arguably the best scorer in the game today, Luka Doncic, and an excellent No. 2 option in Austin Reaves, James has taken a back seat. He’s passing more, he is setting up more, he is setting screens more.
James has also played very good defense. The Lakers are 16-2 over their last 18 games, with James taking just 12.7 shots per game, well below his 15.3 average on the year and the 18.1 shots he took last season.
JJ Redick: LeBron James ‘Great on Both Sides of the Ball’
Lakers coach JJ Redick has taken notice. It’s hard not to. He has been careful to dish out praise to Lakers role players all over the roster, but it becomes easier to do that when your Hall of Fame player is focused on filling his role, too.
Said Redick after the Lakers beat Cleveland on Tuesday: “Again, he’s been great on both sides of the ball. I don’t know what he’s averaged in this stretch of games now where we have gone now 16-2. But I’d imagine it’s around 20 a game, I’d imagine it’s around 8.0 rebounds a game, I’d imagine it’s around 8.0 assists. He’s just doing a little bit of everything at a super-high level for us.
“And, again, Luka might get headlines here and there and AR might get a headline, and certainly our 5s have had some games where they can be headliners. But really, it has just been every single guy that has just been contributing to winning and LeBron has led on that.”
Lakers Winning in the 1st Half
The Lakers can also be reassured after getting a strong win over the Cavaliers, who are the No. 4 team in the East now at 47-28. Prior to playing Cleveland at home, the Lakers had beaten up on some cupcake opponents, notching wins against the tanking Wizards, Nets and Pacers. Against Cleveland, though, the Lakers dominated, quieting both Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, lethal scorers who combined for just 27 points on 10-for-23 shooting.
Lakers great James Worthy made the point that the Lakers are starting games much more effectively now. Before these last 18 games, the Lakers had a first-half net rating of minus-2.6. That was 20th in the league. But since February 27, they are plus-10.4, which is fourth.
“As we watched the Lakers over the last couple of months, you know, they would build these deficits and then they would have to spend a lot of energy trying to come from behind,” Worthy said. “The new Lakers mentality is, start from the beginning and have a defensive presence. Then, if you run into a tight game, you can pour it on.”
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