Lakers’ LeBron James has been putting up excellent numbers, but his box +/- shows he’s hurting the team more than Russell Westbrook
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The Los Angeles Lakers are not having the kind of season they would’ve wanted. They are 29-40 for the season, and are barely clinging on to the 9th spot in the West. A lot of people assumed the Lakers would get their act together after the All-Star break. Commonly, LeBron’s teams make a push for the playoffs after the ASG. However, the Lakers have done no such thing, but have ended up getting mauled by the other teams making a playoff push. Ever since the All-Star break, the Lakers have a 2-9 record in 11 games.
LeBron James, since the All-Star break, has been putting up great numbers. In the 10 games he’s played since the ASG, he’s averaging 31.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 4.9 assists. During this span, LeBron also recorded 2 50-point games, which powered the only two wins the Lakers have had. Russell Westbrook, on the other hand, has been putting up 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, while shooting just 8.7% from the deep!
Unless LeBron James scores when he’s on the floor, he’s a liability!
The box +/- was added to the NBA during the 2007-08 season. It keeps track of net changes in the score when a given player is either on or off the court. Basically, it tells the impact a player has on the game, and whether the team is better with or without them.
Ever since the All-Star break, we have been seeing LeBron James cooking everyone. However, that’s all he’s been doing. If we look at the other aspects of the game, he’s been lacking big time, and the +/- reflects just the same.
Lebron’s average +/- since the ASB is -8.4 and Westbrook’s is only -2.9. That’s a 5.5 point difference for players playing with the same teammates, similar minutes, and even playing the majority of their minutes together!
— DubNation(47-23) (@dubs3000) March 17, 2022
Westbrook’s +/- without Lebron on the court is actually positive! If you take the one outlier game for Lebron where he went supernova in Washington out, his average +/- becomes -11.8!
— DubNation(47-23) (@dubs3000) March 17, 2022
Meaning, if he literally isn’t scoring every single shot, the Lakers are beyond a terrible team with him on the court.
sources: https://t.co/Oxg6LM0wAKhttps://t.co/bBF6ZLEtp9— DubNation(47-23) (@dubs3000) March 17, 2022
Considering how good LBJ seems to be, this number is a shocker! On the other has, Brodie has had a positive impact on the team when LeBron is on the bench. I guess for the Lakers to win, the King needs to focus on the other aspects of the game, instead of just chasing Kareem’s title.
