LeBron James had another career-defining night, as he took the Pelicans to the slaughterhouse. James had an unfathomable stat line, putting up 28 points, 17 assists, 11 rebounds, 5 steals, and 1 block. His performance was so elite, that even the toughest of his critics had to tip their hat to the King. Leading the pack was Skip Bayless, as the veteran journalist took to his show, ‘Undisputed’, to discuss LeBron’s performance against the Pelicans. Heaping praise on James, Bayless began his review,
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“Your team looked like the best team I have seen all year. Yesterday, in that one game, in that one building, against that team, you annihilated the New Orleans Pelicans….it was a mismatch.”
LeBron was the focus of Bayless’ praise, even getting recognition for his effort on defense. James was definitely active on the passing lanes, collecting over five steals, most of them coming from good reads on transition defense. Talking about LeBron’s defense on Zion Williamson, Bayless further added,
“He took Zion completely out of the game. He didn’t have him on every trip down the floor, he had some help…He held Zion, who usually makes 70 percent of his shots to 4-13.”
While James had a historic night, Davis wasn’t just a bystander, as the Lakers big man led the team in points, registering a stat line of 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists. Bayless even recognized Davis’ dominance throughout the game, talking about his mismatch with Jonas Valanciunas,
“AD came out and annihilated Valanciunas so badly that very quickly Willy Green just said, I have seen enough of that…he only played like 7 minutes.”
The Lakers supporting cast also held their own, with Austin Reaves leading the way, scoring 20 points. D’Angelo Russell wasn’t far behind his running mate, as the Lakers guard put 19 points on 5-10 shooting from three.
What’s next for Lebron James and Co.?
Overall, the Lakers had a fantastic night at the Smoothie Center on Monday, registering the 47th win of their regular season campaign. While James and Co. closed the season out on a win, they will face Williamson and the Pelicans again on Wednesday to determine the 7th seed of the Western Conference.
The loser of this matchup will play the winner of the Golden State-Sacramento match-up, with both teams looking scary as of late. While James should be playing in the upcoming contest, Davis’ appearance may hinge on the back injury he incurred during last night’s game.
Pelicans fans shouldn’t get their hopes up just yet, as AD has already declared to the media that he will “most definitely” be playing against New Orleans on Wednesday. The rematch between these two Western Conference teams should be a blockbuster, with all eyes on Zion, as the Pelicans will look to exact vengeance against the Lakers.
