The Los Angeles Lakers lost at home to the Phoenix Suns last night, snapping their seven-game winning streak. It wasn’t a banner game for any of the team’s three big stars, as Luka Doncic scored 38 but turned it over nine times, Austin Reaves only scored 16, well below his season average, and LeBron James was nearly invisible as he scored only 10 in 31 minutes.
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This was the second half of a back-to-back, and LeBron had sat out the front end against the Pelicans on Sunday night as he managed a foot injury.
It was a disappointing loss for a Lakers team that’s been playing really well lately, but it was also an understandable one given the Suns’ propensity to play pressure defense and make teams work all 94 feet to get a basket. It’s not a style of game suited to LeBron’s current age and physical condition, and it’s helped Phoenix to a surprise 13-9 record.
Afterwards, LeBron had an easy explanation for why he had to sit out on Sunday night, and why this season has been more difficult. “It’s called ‘old,'” he told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “You get it. You understand. You wake up with s*** you didn’t have the night before.”
Nobody has beaten Father Time yet, but LeBron has taken him into the 15th round. By now, both fighters are staggering around the ring and putting their whole body into each punch, yet neither is willing to go down. LeBron is in his record 23rd NBA season, and to this point, he’s only played in five games after missing the start of the season with sciatica.
He’s also very much ceded control of the team to Luka, who’s been putting up NBA numbers as he leads the league in scoring. Austin Reaves has also ascended to become the Robin to Luka’s Batman. That makes LeBron … Alfred?
Those worried about how LeBron would take being anyone other than the alpha on the team has looked silly. LeBron is playing like he knows he’s no longer the guy he once was, and he’s saying all the right things when it comes to team chemistry. More importantly, the Lakers have been winning. This is the first game LeBron played in this season that they lost.
Even at age 40, he’s still capable of looking like the old LeBron at times, but he’s still been self-deprecating about it. When he joined Michael Jordan late last season as the only player over 40 to score 40 points, he joked that he needed “a glass of wine and some sleep.”
After turning 40 last December, LeBron said that he could play for another five or seven years. Nobody knows yet if he’s serious about doing that, but his willingness to accept a smaller role on a winning team suggests that maybe he is.
For now, the Lakers need to keep him healthy so that they have a chance to make a playoff run. They’re currently 15-5 and in second place in the West, and if they can keep that up without taxing him too bad physically, they’ll be in good shape come April.
