All is well again with Los Angeles Lakers basketball. Well, maybe not (yet?), but one thing is for sure, LeBron James is going to do whatever it takes to drag this team into the 2022 NBA playoffs.
The NBA news cycle had begun to become a significant Lakers pile on entering Saturday’s matchup with the Golden State Warriors. Shortly before tipoff, there was a report about “tensions building” between Russell Westbrook and coach Frank Vogel and mounting pressure to bench the former NBA MVP.
In true superstar fashion, LeBron James understood the assignment; do what it takes to get a win to quiet the noise. Finishing with a fifth consecutive loss would have sent the narratives into a frenzy.
James finished with a staggering 56 points—the most he’s ever scored in his Lakers career.
“He was phenomenal tonight, Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony said, via Associated Press. “The way that it came, in the rhythm of the game and the flow of the game, us making that comeback and him being a big reason for us coming back and making that run that he did. He just put us on his back tonight.”
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The Lakers often deployed LeBron James at the center spot down the stretch instead of crowding the spacing on offense with a big like Dwight Howard. With as much shooting as possible around “King James,” Los Angeles was able to do a lot of offense—putting 35 points on the board in the fourth quarter while shooting 57.1% from the floor and 7/13 (53.8%) from deep. James accounted for 16 of those 35 points.
“I felt pretty good with my game tonight, every part of the floor, and I was able to make a couple plays to help us win,” James said.
The short-term formula for the Lakers is a simple one; surround LeBron James with as many shooters and willing defenders and get out of his way. No traditional big man saw playing time against the Golden State Warriors in this game as a result.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Warriors vs Lakers Recap & Highlights: LeBron Dominates In Win
With James at the five, the opposition has no choice but to match the Lakers with a super-small lineup of their own or run the risk of him having easy access to a mismatch that he wants. Against the Warriors, he spent plenty of time as a screener rolling to the rim, posting up, and cleaning up missed shots in the paint, in addition to being an absolute load to handle in transition.
It’s challenging enough to handle the power that James plays with when trying to match athleticism with most lineup combinations. Still, it makes it all the more challenging when sending two defenders at him opens up opportunities for him to slice you up with his transcendent passing ability.
What makes having James at the five all the more special is that at any time, he can take over out on the perimeter when the Lakers need him to do so. Whether it’s an end-of-quarter situation that calls for an isolation three, attacking off the catch after spacing, running a ball screen of his own, or popping after setting the ball screen, the options are legitimately anything imaginable.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Warriors vs Lakers Recap & Highlights: LeBron Dominates In Win
While the Russell Westbrook experience has been a negative one so far, the option of playing LeBron at the five with spacing maximized gives the Los Angeles Lakers the best possible chance of Westbrook living up to expectations. There’s still a risk of bone-headed plays as he had some real blunders with turnovers in the fourth quarter, but the fact remains.
