While the #7 seed Lakers have stolen home court and have a 2 -1 lead over the #2 seed Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs, 38-year old superstar LeBron James has, by his own standards, gotten off to a slow playoffs start.
James averaged 28.9/8.3/6.8 and shot 50.0/32.1/76.8% in regular season. In the playoffs, he averaged 28.6/9.0/7.2 and shot 49.5/33.5/73.9%. In 3 games against Memphis, he averaged 24.7/10.7/4.3 and shot 50.8/20.0/66.7%.
Of special concern are his reduced scoring and playmaking. James is averaging 3.9 fewer points and 2.9 fewer assists per game while shooting 13.5 and 3.2 percentage points lower on his 3-point shots and free throws.
The greatest concern is LeBron James’ team worst -5.3 plus/minus. The Lakers have always won the LeBron James minutes. Their problem this series has been losing the minutes when LeBron James is in the game.
So far, Davis, Russell, Reaves, Vanderbilt, and Hachimura have posted postive plus/minus and net ratings while James, Brown, Schroder, and Gabriel have struggled and posted negative plus/minus and net ratings.
While three games is a small sample size, this is the playoffs and frankly, we have not yet seen Playoff LeBron. We’ve seen glimpses in a specific play or series of plays but not the King literally taking over a game or series.
There are some who think James may be taking a deliberate step back to give co-superstar Anthony Davis the opportunity to step up and take the torch from the King and become the team alpha and face of the franchise.
The big question is whether James had just been coasting and filling in what he perceives the Lakers need as the series proceeds or whether his slow start is a sign that he might not be able to be a superstar every night.
Everybody knows Father Time will eventully defeat even the King. We’ve seen the start of it with the more numerous injuries and longer recovery time to get back on the court. Could the next step be part-time superstar?
We’ll get an answer to that question when the Lakers play the Grizzlies in Game 4 Monday night in L.A. The Lakers have essentially stolen home court and taken a 2–1 lead without LeBron James playing like a superstar.
Game 4 is when superstars like LeBron James take over 2–1 playoff series and transform them into 3–1 series headed for a ‘Gentlemen’s Sweep.’ Game 4’s are when even part-time superstars put on their Superman capes.
In the end, there’s no way the 7th seed Los Angeles Lakers are going to beat the 2nd seed Memphis Grizzlies unless they win the LeBron James minutes for the rest of this series. Lakers need LeBron James the superstar to win.
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Perhaps, but that’s why we are supposed to have AD and DLO and others to contribute their fair share most every night and not once every 5 games.
I’m okay with his offense so far, with the exception of his 3 point shooting. If we need LeBron to score 35-40 points a game, we are in trouble. As for the plus minus, LeBron generally plays with the 2nd unit. With the exception of Rui, the 2nd unit has struggled to score. That’s a big part of the problem. I would like to see Lonnie get Bradley’s minutes. See if he can put some points up with the 2nd unit.
I think this is unfolding the way it is for more than a few reasons:
-Yes, LBJ is aging. He’s also quite likely still managing pain and stiffness in his foot and that, as much as anything else, is what’s slowing him down. Foot pain is going to affect everything on both ends.
-The Grizzlies are going to let the rest of th Lakers beat them. They’re doubling AD all the time and loading up on LeBron when he has the ball. This is by design.
-The Lakers are still figuring this all out on the fly. Especially when D’Angelo and LBJ and AD all share the floor. They have barely played or practiced and are basically learning how to play with one another in playoff games. Ideal? Nope, but it is what it is.
-Role-players have been up to the task. Reaves is ascending now, Rui has found a way ti consistently score, and when AD is dominating he’s the best first option.
This was always going to be the riddle to solve at some point, the question was only “when would it need solving by”? Could it be as simple as taking what the Grizz are trying to do and take the ball out of LeBron’s hands or make him beat two defenders? Or is it a physical and mental drop off due to longevity? Should we advance to the next round we’ll have a better barometer.
All in all, this is why I’ve been advocating trying to keep some of the young talent we’ve developed over the years for this moment. The Lakers a re lucky they were able to find Hachimura and his playoff uptick is huge. Same goes for Reaves.
I think that we may have to figure out how to live with this level of production fro LeBron going forward, though. Between the foot, his overall age, and how teams generally defend LeBron James it’s a lot to overcome consistently, especially when you’re not 100% and time isn’t on your side.
Good points across the board.
I look at Lebron and what I see is an older player still being somewhat affected by that foot injury but has the experience, IQ, & overall talent level to put up decent numbers regardless. He’s gonna figure out a way to get some things done no matter what….it’s Lebron. Where it really shows up is on the defensive side. Grizz were actually seeking him out in the 1st two games and they had their way with him in the post; for whatever reason, they stopped doing it in Game 3. Another thing I’ve noticed is that I haven’t seen him do his patented spin move when he’s on the move towards the rim. That puts alotta torque on that right foot/ankle and I honestly can’t remember the last time I’ve seen him do it. Something I’ll look at more closely tonight.
Also great points.
I do agree with the comments that the foot is probably a big part of why LeBron is off to a slow start in the playoffs as is his age and desire to see AD take the mantle.
Best we can hope for as Lakers fans is that LeBron’s decline, which is inevitable, will be slow and steady with him adjusting his role to continue to be a major contributor but not the alpha. That may mean what’s next is a part-time and then occasional superstar.
Lakers need to win this game as badly as last game. They just don’t have extra margin to play poorly and still win. Not without the King being the King.
This could be the playoffs where we acknowledge that AD is now the lead superstar on this team. Hopefully it will be because of Davis’ ascension and not James’ descent.
But I sure wouldn’t mind seeing LBJ win one last Finals MVP.