LeBron James should keep playing his game and ignore Magic, Kobe’s criticism of him doing too much since
LeBron James is having another NBA MVP type season. He is averaging 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.6 assists a game. He is the main reason why the Los Angeles Lakers is 15-9 and sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference despite playing 13 games without Rajon Rondo.
Last Night, James ignored the he is doing too much comments from the Lakers President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and former Lakers star Kobe Bryant to score 20 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers to a 121-113 come-from-behind victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
The one thing I don’t get is Magic saying James’ workload is too much considering the fact that he knew how James played in Cleveland and Miami. He knew James is a player who keeps the ball in his hands and runs the offense. Magic is talking about LeBron playing fewer minutes is fine, but saying he is doing too much and we do not want the Cleveland LeBron is something different.
Basically, what Magic wants is a babysitter of some sort. He wants James to help teach the young players like Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram how to win. He wants to see those players develop because they are the future. They are the players who will be playing ten seasons from now.
The problem is James wants to win now. He is trying to win another championship and is good enough to win another MVP. Magic is asking him to sacrifice a lot not for the good of the team, but for the future of the Lakers franchise. Right now Ball, Kuzma and Ingram are not ready and James knows it. He is doing what he believes must be done to win right now.
As for Kobe, I do not want to hear anything about doing too much from him. For the record, James is averaging a career low 34.8 minutes a game in his 16th season and at the age of 34.
Bryant averaged 38.5 and 38.6 minutes a game in his 16th and 17th seasons at the age of 33 and 34. Bryant also averaged more field goal attempts per game in those seasons than what James is averaging today.