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Lakers second in league in fourth quarter scoring

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With James declaring at the outset of the season his aim to play all 82 games in his 22nd season, there needed to be some protections put in place by coach JJ Redick. The offense has been orchestrated through Anthony Davis, resulting in a career-high 31.1 points per game — and a career-low 27.4 usage percentage for James. Beyond maximizing Davis’ prime, the hope is the distribution can allow James to pick his spots. The Lakers are second in the league in fourth quarter scoring, averaging 30.8 points per game. James is averaging 6.7 of his 23.3 PPG in the fourth quarter this season — accounting for about 29% of his scoring output on any given night. The vision came together for a vintage James performance Saturday in New Orleans when he scored 11 of his 21 points in the fourth to help L.A. grind out a road win on the second night of a back-to-back. — Dave McMenamin

Lakers vs Jazz Preview: How legit is this winning streak?

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The Lakers look to not only remain undefeated in the NBA Cup but also on their home floor when they host the Jazz on Tuesday.

It didn’t take long for the Lakers to put together a five-game winning streak this season. This is definitely an encouraging sign, especially since it took until March for Los Angeles to do that last season. And not to jinx it or anything, but the best part about this winning streak is that it’s sustainable given how the purple and gold have been playing as of late.

The Lakers will be at home — where they remain undefeated — for the next three games. Tuesday’s match will be an NBA Cup game, where Los Angeles also remains unbeaten dating back to last season. It’s nice to be on the right side of these winning streaks and, hopefully, contrary to the famous saying, they don’t intend to be broken.

In order for the Lakers to keep their winning streak — whether it’s their overall record, at home or in the NBA Cup — some aspects of their play must still improve. Let’s start by looking at it from the standpoint of their matchup against the Jazz:

Can the Lakers defense still improve?

This is what I’m going to pay most attention to in Tuesday’s game against Utah, who employ two speedy prolific scoring starting guards in Jordan Clarkson and Colin Sexton. Clarkson and Sexton are the exact type of guards the Lakers defense struggled to contain early in the season, specifically before they replaced D’Angelo Russell on the starting lineup for Cam Reddish.

Can the Lakers handle the Jazz early?

Maybe it’s the fact that the Lakers have had way too many nail-biters of late but it would be nice to see Los Angeles take care of Utah early. This isn’t to say the Jazz will be a walk in the park as no opponent is in today’s NBA, but it’s important to note that they’ve been struggling to start the year. They’ve only won three out of their first 10 games and were on a six-game losing streak to begin the season. They’ll also be on their third game in four nights.

JJ Redick has found perfect balance for LeBron James and Lakers

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A sustainably great season could be underway.

James has been nothing short of brilliant in 2024-25, stuffing the stat sheet and shooting the lights out. Roughly a month shy of turning 40, there are few who would argue against his inclusion on a far-too-early All-NBA team.

One of the primary reasons he and the Lakers have been mutually successful has been the unavoidable fact that Redick has cracked the code—thus far, at least.

Through 13 games, the Lakers are 9-4 and James is flirting with averaging a triple-double. He set a new personal best for consecutive games with at least 10, 10, and 10, and has already produced three different 30-point outings.

James’ quality of play can’t be praised enough, but far too little is being said about how brilliant Redick’s approach to his utilization has been.

JJ Redick proving less can be more from LeBron James in regular season

James is currently averaging 23.3 points, 9.2 assists, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.4 three-point field goals made on .514/.431/.758 shooting. A vast majority of players will never come close to hitting any of those marks, let alone posting them simultaneously.

One of the biggest takeaways from the way the Lakers are currently using James can be found in that first number—James’ lowest scoring average since his rookie season in 2003-04.

The reason for that startling fact is simple: James is averaging career-low 16.6 field goal attempts per game. For those who haven’t been watching, it’s likely baffling that Redick would have him attempting fewer shots when he’s converting at clips of 51.4 percent from the field and 43.1 percent from beyond the arc.

James has been playing as a part of the system rather than as the heart of it, however, which has made way for him to truly take over when the team needs him most—all without expending too much energy.