LeBron James is an absolute force on the basketball court. If you spend any amount of time watching the guy go to work, that much will be clear.
But every once in a while, James gets into a mode that makes him nearly unstoppable.
Chris Broussard of FOX Sports calls it ‘angry LeBron’ and, according to him, that’s what we saw in L.A.’s 124-116 victory over Indiana on Thursday.
“LeBron obviously always plays at a high level but angry LeBron takes it into the stratosphere. And I said yesterday on Undisputed that I thought we would see angry LeBron, that he would come out with a vengeance… and he did.
Think back to his first game in Cleveland as a member of the Miami Heat, when I’ve never seen so much vitriol from a regular-season crowd. He was awesome. Think back to the 2016 Finals, after Game 4 when Draymond Green called him the b-word. I talked to LeBron about that, he said ‘you don’t ever call somebody that.’ He follows up with back-to-back 41 point games and a triple-double in what became the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history.
Going into last night’s game, there were many reasons for LeBron to be angry. Number one, he’s missed more than half the season with an injury. Number two, he finally gets back and he’s suspended in his second game back. Then on top of that, the Lakers are struggling mightily, then you got fans in Indiana who are known for being nasty. You had all the ingredients for a special night from LeBron. That was angry LeBron and angry LeBron’s a sight to behold.”
"LeBron obviously always plays at a high level but angry LeBron takes it into the stratosphere. You had all the ingredients for a special night from LeBron. That was angry LeBron & angry LeBron's a sight to behold."
— @Chris_Broussard on LBJ's 39 PTS in Lakers OT win over Pacers pic.twitter.com/iMCR7o1zmj
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) November 25, 2021
This season, more than ever before, it seems like LeBron has a lot of reasons to be angry. Besides all the things Broussard mentioned about what’s going on in L.A., James is being counted out and disregarded by the fans and media this season, probably because of his age.
But if there is one thing we’ve learned about the 4x MVP, it’s that he always responds when his back is against the wall. And now, as he faces the pressure of leading this Lakers team through some major growing pains, all eyes are on him to see what more he’s got left in the tank.
Fortunately, it looks like he hasn’t lost a beat…
