LeBron James‘ numbers for the Lakers this season are some of the lowest since his rookie year, but after a slow start, he’s starting to put things together. However, despite regaining his form, he knows what his role is for this team, writes Dave McMenamin for ESPN.
Meaning, James knows that for the first time in his NBA career, he’s playing on someone else’s team, that of his co-star, Luka Doncic.
“Luka don’t need to bend his game [for me],” James said. “Luka is our [26-year-old] franchise for this ballclub. He don’t need to bend his game… It’s up to us to bend our game around him and figure it out. We just try to be dynamic and work off of him. We know he is an unbelievable pick-and-roll player, unbelievable shotmaker. He commands the defense. He has four eyes, sometimes six eyes on him. So, it’s up to us to put ourselves in the right position.”
The Lakers have played well this season while players cycle in and out of the rotation, but in a tightly-packed Western Conference, James knows there’s room for improvement.
“We’re just trying to weather the storm with the guys that we have,” James said. “But, it is going to start with me and Luka, for sure. Every time we hit the floor. He has the ball in his hands. I’m going to have the ball in my hands. We have to make sure we are putting our guys in position offensively, and then defensively.”
James also gave an update in terms of what fans should expect for his availability moving forward.
“Every back-to-back, for the rest of the season, is TBD,” James said. “I am 41. I got the most minutes in NBA history. Bank [that answer] right now.”
We have more from the Lakers:
- Doncic has noticed the effort from the all-time great and doesn’t take it for granted. “He’s been absolutely amazing,” Doncic said. “Just helping me out, helping others out, being super efficient on the field goals. … He can do anything. Just really appreciate him. … We are playing better with each other, game by game. And this is just going to be improving more.” That improvement hit a roadblock recently as the Lakers lost two straight games to the Spurs and Bucks. Against Milwaukee, the Lakers’ stars came up short, writes Broderick Turner for the LA Times. James went scoreless over the last three minutes and had the game-clinching turnover, while Doncic fouled out on a shooting foul with 16.2 seconds left and a tie game. Doncic was frustrated with the final call, saying, “I don’t think he shoots like that. The referee said it was a foul. So, I guess it’s a foul.” Coach JJ Redick noticed it wasn’t Doncic’s best effort, but wasn’t overly concerned. “He missed some free throws, and I think he’s been such a dynamic driver and paint-toucher for us that those plays can kinda mess with your mind a little bit,” Redick said. “But he’s won of so many games and he’s not gonna, every, whatever game it is, you’re naturally gonna have not your best stuff. And he’s didn’t have his best stuff tonight.”
- Rui Hachimura was a full participant in practice on Sunday, Redick said, and he’s likely to play tomorrow, per Daniel Starkand of Lakers Nation (Twitter link). Redick said that Hachimura will come off the bench, given that he’s on a minutes restriction. Once that restriction is lifted, Redick says he will decide whether or not Hachimura will rejoin the starting lineup.
- While the Lakers’ desire to add a two-way wing player to their roster is a poorly-kept secret, some around the league point to them as an example of why it might be a quieter trade deadline than expected, according to Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN. “They just need to fast forward to the offseason,” an anonymous league executive said. “They can’t realistically add to the roster. They don’t have a solve. They’re focused on keeping cap space and trying to do moves on the margins, and it’s hard to find a lot that makes sense.”