LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have been struggling to put together any semblance of a competent start to this 2022-23 NBA season. Tonight’s loss against the Los Angeles Clippers comes with their star, Kawhi Leonard, nursing an ACL injury and sitting out yet another game.
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James returned to the lineup tonight and started off on fire, going 6-6 from the field including 2 shots from beyond the arc. He ended the game with and efficient 30 points that eventually led to a 13 point loss to Paul George (29 points) and company.
James would leave the game with around 5 minutes remaining and head back into the locker room after seemingly pointing to his groin. He has previously suffered a groin strain with the Lakers during his first season with the purple and gold back in 2018-19. He did not return to the floor following his exit to the locker room.
Also read: LeBron James had his eyes set on joining $16.2 billion worth NFL owner during 2011 NBA lockout
LeBron James has the worst plus-minus on the Lakers this NBA season
LeBron James is nearly 38 years old and in his 20th season in the NBA. He insinuated prior to the ‘Battle of LA’ that he cannot be held to the same standard that he was previously because of his age. Regardless, he’s been their leading scorer this season though it hasn’t translated to wins in the slightest.
In fact, the offense tends to become a bit stagnant when James takes to the floor. Many of his isolation buckets require a series of dribble moves that lead to bricked threes. Plus-minus is definitely not a perfect stat and shouldn’t be used to solely evaluate a player’s contribution to his team.
However, when you have a plus-minus of –61 across the season, it does get a quite troublesome. Not to mention the fact that this is the lowest +/- on the entire purple and gold squad. For reference, Russell Westbrook is at a –38 and Anthony Davis is at a –45.
What does the Lakers schedule look like going forward?
The Lakers are set to face the 4-6 Kings fresh off an upset over the Cleveland Cavaliers in their next game. This kicks off a short, 4 game home stand where they will host a bevy of struggling teams like the Nets, Pistons, and Spurs (leading league in assists per game).
After an incredibly tough schedule to start off their 2023 campaign, LeBron James and company will look to rack up wins against slightly easier opponents over the next 2 weeks.
