A scary time is finally upon us. LeBron James is fading away from the dominant force that he’s been for so many years. This was very apparent in the Lakers most recent game against the Phoenix Suns. James logged 31 minutes but managed just 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting (1-of-4 from three), with zero rebounds and only three assists.
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It wasn’t just James. The Purple and Gold looked sluggish after playing three games in four days. The Suns ran away with this one 125-108. But the King’s physical capabilities seemed diminished. His powerful frame and ability to turn a fast break into a slam dunk now seem like a distant memory.
The 40-year-old star’s poor play yesterday was the topic of conversation during today’s NBA on ESPN broadcast. Analyst Brian Windhorst, who has been covering Bron since he came into the league in 2003, pointed out how James didn’t really seem to have any lift to his jump shots, and how that was easy to spot from a mile away.
“He didn’t have any lift. He didn’t have any burst and he didn’t have any lift. We haven’t really seen this from LeBron. I know that he’s shown his age at times over the last couple of seasons. This is the first time this year I’ve felt he’s looked this way,” stated Windy.
The broadcast then pulled up a play from the Lakers-Suns game where James tried to take the rock and score from the baseline. It ended with him getting blocked. “He goes baseline, and he just has no lift on that shot. This is easy pickings for Mark Williams here. This is not a typical LeBron James play.”
James’ sciatica might have been worse than expected. He’s not a young man anymore, and keeping up with how fast-paced the NBA has become could already be taking a toll. Hopefully, he’s just not in game shape yet because of missing the first 14 games of the year. That’s what Windhorst is suggesting at least.
“We want this to be an outlier situation, certainly an outlier situation in his career,” the analyst somberly said. “Definitely something to keep our eye on. You do not want to see this be the norm. You want to see this as LeBron having an old bad night. Not something that we see recurrently,” he added.
The good news is that LA has a couple of nights off to rest before they travel to Toronto for a showdown with the Raptors. This could give LeBron, head coach J.J. Redick, and the rest of the Lakers squad time to figure out how they want to integrate the King into the offense. The time might have finally come for him to play a supporting role.
Nothing can ever be taken away from James. He’s still going to go down as one of, if not the, best players to ever lace up sneakers in the NBA. But time waits for no man, and we may have finally reached the point where LeGOAT should consider this being his final year on the hardwood. However, I reserve the right to change my mind when he gets a triple-double in the next game.
