The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls in a 142-130 shootout on Thursday night to win their fourth game in a row. They have now moved into third place in the charged-up Western Conference playoff race. Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Deandre Ayton led the way for the Lakers, while LeBron James played his part in a relatively subdued but significant manner.
Advertisement
Doncic dropped nine 3s and 51 points on Chicago. And his outburst was supplemented by 30 from Reaves and 23 from Ayton. When it was all said and done, the Lakers got 137 points from their starting five. But then, it’s unusual for a Lakers win not to prominently feature a James performance.
Even though the 4-time NBA champion didn’t star in the win, he stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and a block in his return after a three-game absence. Him returning to action in a winning game was important since some observers, including Chris Mannix and Rachel Nichols, had spoken about how the Lakers have played their best basketball without LeBron this season.
It’s no surprise why. LeBron’s game doesn’t mesh with Doncic, and the team just doesn’t have enough defense to support the pair of them and Reaves on the court together. At least that has been the consensus among analysts over the 41-year-old’s role in the team.
Tuesday’s performance makes it seem that, with a potential fall into obscurity in mind, LeBron has figured out a way to lend a hand. That too, without demanding much in return. James Worthy definitely appreciated what LeBron brought to the table against Chicago.
“He played in a role like a role player,” said Worthy. “He’s arguably the best player in the game willing to do that. I think it’s an amazing approach that he took tonight.”
Ayton also liked what he saw and praised the 4-time MVP on his ability to find chemistry with everyone on the court. James shone even when the light wasn’t shining as brightly on him as he had been used to for over two decades. “That’s LeBron. I think greatness fits in with anything. And that’s LeBron James,” said Ayton.
“He did a great job of just blending in, just playing his position and playing the big spot as well. He had some big plays down the stretch where he was protecting the rim on multiple efforts, and that was just big because I was on the bench and I was just seeing how he was playing so well,” he added.
This is the kind of LeBron that the Lakers can win with. Not the heliocentric icon who has four rings and an argument as the greatest player of all time. What JJ Redick needs is a supercharged version of someone willing to do everything to win. And what about putting up huge points?
That’s what Luka is for. The Slovenian star is averaging over 40 points per game in his last four, and it’s no coincidence that the Lakers are 4-0 in that stretch. LeBron seemed to get that in the post-game locker room. “If it benefits others, it benefits the team,” he said.
“The team is most important. Everybody’s successful when we win. So yeah, it is a sacrifice, I know what I’m capable of still doing as an individual, but I’m able to adapt to what’s important for this team, and the win is the only thing that matters,” LeBron confessed.
The Lakers have been written off all year as pretenders. But they’re not only hanging tough with just 16 games to go until the playoffs, but they’re also peaking at the right time. If LeBron can keep ably filling a support role while Luka and Reaves go nuclear, then there are going to be plenty of Lakers-flavored plates of crow to go around to all the doubters.
