Los Angeles Lakers: We might be under-appreciating LeBron James (again)
By Cai Owen
The consensus for the past decade or so has been that LeBron James is the best player in all of basketball, but have we still underrated him?
The high-flying dunks, the 3-point bombs, the pinpoint passing, the clutch plays. We’ve seen LeBron James, the Akron native, do it all.
Yet, amongst all the hoopla, it may just be that we underrate the enigma that is LeBron James.
In his 16th NBA season, James is averaging 28.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per outing on 52/40/75 splits. Despite being just a month shy of his 34th birthday, he leads the league in scoring – and is having the second-best 3-point shooting season of his career percentage-wise.
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This season, however, he’s taking almost double the triples he did when he shot 40.6 percent from downtown in 2012/13. His 75 percent clip from the line is also his best effort since the 13/14 season.
While James continues to thrive effortlessly on the offensive end, the other side of the ball couldn’t be more of a stark contrast. You’ll often find the newly acquired Laker floating around on the defensive end, quite frankly showing no interest in guarding anyone. It seems, over the past few years especially, that this is the price LeBron lead teams must face.
In order to continue producing at an MVP level (offensively) as he enters his “twilight” years, James quite simply must conserve energy on the defensive end. Remember, this isn’t just any NBA superstar in his 16th season. James has been to eight straight NBA Finals and ranks 18th all-time in minutes played.
The disgust the national media show towards LeBron’s defense (or lack thereof) is indicative of the obscene standards he’s held to. In Year 16, Shaq averaged 14 and 8. Kobe put up 27 a game, but shot 43 percent from the field and 30% from deep. MJ *only* played for 15 seasons.
James’ 29/8/7 on all-time great efficiency is something unprecedented for a player of his age, his mileage. The longevity is unfathomable, but as long as James is playing, the metaphorical ‘GOAT’ goalposts will continue to be pushed further out of range. His true status amongst the greats to play won’t be evident until he hangs up his sneakers, which at the moment, looks like it could be a ways away.
Not only is he critiqued harshly in terms of past superstars, but current ones, too. Factoring in the lights of LA, the microscope may have never been stronger on the King.
A missed free throw in November headlines sports shows the morning after. A Laker loss results in national media pondering if James is doing enough.
In contrast, a Durant missed free throw in the clutch is swept under the rug – as well as a porous performance in which he shot 8/25 in Steph Curry’s absence. In both instances, the consensus 2nd best player in the world – for some the best – avoided scrutiny at the expense of the national media. Put simply, the expected standard for James on a nightly basis is otherworldly.
While LeBron continues to stuff the stat sheet night in night out, the question beckons: how far can he take this Laker team?
While his current efforts have the purple and gold at 10-7 – good enough for 7th in the West – these Lakers don’t yet feel like contenders, as expected.
In saying that, they don’t feel particularly far off. A few Western Conference teams have gotten off to a slow start, and the Lakers have shown glimpses of excellence.
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As of now, I have their ceiling as the Conference Finals. With the addition of some shooting – perhaps someone who can create their own shot – who knows how far they can go.
There’s no rush. A LeBron team is a win now team, but the 33-year-old signed a four-year-deal for a reason. He’s here for the long haul.