5 Things: James Epic Game Propels Lakers Past Rockets

You would have hoped that this would have ended up with James resting for much of the 4th quarter. Second game in a back-to-back, LeBron played 40+ last night, still dogged by the ankle he rolled a few games back. and a tough stretch of games coming up. No such luck but at least we walked away with a much-needed win.

1. LeBron continues to pile on history. The King is just 4 games from tying Michael Jordan for most 40 point games at this age. We needed every one of those points and his 4th quarter was masterful. Un like yesterday when he seemed content to let the team win the game in the waning seconds and faded down the stretch in the second half in general, LeBron kicked it into another gear and made sure the accomplishment wasn’t wasted in a loss like so many already have.
2. Two turnovers. A lesser regarded feat than LeBron’s scoring but no less impactful was the Lakers setting a franchise record for fewest turnovers in a game. Again we needed just about every one of those possessions to generate FGAs and buckets to win the game.
3. Walking wounded. One thing I really admire about this team is how they seem to truly have the “next man up” mentality. The grit and fight thy have is really refreshing from last season. Of course it would help if more of the better guys on the roster could play but no news on when LW4 or Reaves will return to the floor. In their stead Kendrick Nunn has been playing his best basketball as a Laker and Max Christie has carved out a niche’ role. AD is unlikely to play this month so we’ll night to fight on without him and hope for the best. In his stead Wenyan Gabriel and Thomas Bryant have been giving max effort but they simply can’t replicate what AD brings when he can play.
4. The memo was received. After much hullabaloo regarding the officiating last game and this season in general, LeBron got to the line 12 times matching his season high from the Dallas Christmas game. Westbrook also got to the line 8 times. We’ll see how long this trend lasts.
5. The next ten games can make or break the season. 6 out of 10 on the road, 5 of those on the back five. The opponents are all quality with San Antonio being the only pencil it in win and Portland being the only other team under .500 besides and the Spurs. Those 10 games will also be the last ones before the trade deadline. We play Milwaukee on 2/9 hours after the deadline ends. How the Lakers fare in this stretch will go a long way towards defining this season. Do we fall to superior opponents and fall out of the playin and playoff picture? Do we tread water and hover around .500 like we have for much of the season? Do we exceed expectations and win 6 or 7 games in this stretch? I am not one of those folks who sees a trade on the horizon since the Lakers created another self-imposed obstacle in the “we want someone to be around for 3 years, and be a superstar, and no other team will outbid us and our meager haul for this player either”. This is what we’re rolling with for the season, LeBron can side whine all he wants but it changes nothing. Fans and media can express disbelief at the missteps and inaction but they’ve made it pretty obvious at this point that they don’t want to make a trade unless it’s a gift-horse. Don’t see that happening.
   
   A win is a win but we need to start moving up the standings sooner than later. All of these 2 steps forward, 3 steps back aren’t going to be enough to get us to where we need to be. The Lakers need to start moving up so that they can try and rest LeBron as much as they can. If AD comes back and if his foot injury doesn’t come back and if we can make it work with he, Thomas Bryant and Wenyan Gabriel bolstering LeBron in the front court we have an OK foundation. The team will need to reverse the injury luck, big time, to have any shot of any kind. That has always been the key, nothing has changed.