LeBron James has made it normal for fans to expect him to defy Father Time and continue playing at an All-NBA level for seemingly forever. Year 22 has brought a rude awakening for fans, as we’re seeing James visibly struggle to be a highly impactful player on the court now. While he’s still producing at a high level, it falls well below what we’ve seen him do in the past and what many expected from him this year.
Over the last two decades, fans have gotten accustomed to LeBron raising the level of every team he’s on, regardless of personnel. While he’s picked his teammates for a chunk of his career, years like the 2007 and 2018 seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers prove that James can single-handedly carry a team to the NBA Finals.
Nobody would have dared to say that a team is worse with LeBron on the floor, but it’s coming true for the first time this season. He’s averaging 22.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 9.1 assists this season while appearing in all games of their 12-9 record, but his numbers don’t tell the full story.
The Lakers have a +11.0 rating when James is off the floor and -5.7 when he’s playing per 48 minutes, according to Nate Duncan. His net rating this season is -8.7, with the same being +3.8 last season. His plus-minus so far this season is -111, which is another shock given the Lakers have just had a -2.5 differential as a team this season.
LeBron is looking uncomfortable in scoring positions this season. While he has the offensive creativity necessary to be one of the best passers in the NBA, plays to get LeBron going have affected the team’s success on the court. Even theoretically bad rotational players like D’Angelo Russell (+4.1), Gabe Vincent (-4.2), and Cam Reddish (-6.8) have better net ratings than James this season.
He scored just 10 points (4-16 FG) in the Lakers’ loss to the Timberwolves as the Lakers had their worst offensive performance of the season with 80 points scored as a team.
James is in the middle of a particularly cruel stretch of games, going the last four games without making a three-pointer. He’s 0-19 on deep heaves over this stretch as the Lakers have gone 1-3 due to LeBron not being able to even replicate his average production. He shot a career-high 41.0% from three last season on over five attempts a game, so his lack of shooting has to be an internal factor instead of an ability issue.
In addition, James is currently in the midst of one of the worst six-game stretches of his career. He’s failed to crack 45.0% from the field in his last six outings, marking the first time since his rookie season he has failed to do so.
He’s averaging 16.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 8.7 assists over the last six games while shooting 39.8% from the field and 10.0% from three, almost failing to keep his 10-point streak alive in two of these encounters.
What Can Be Done To Address LeBron’s Declining Production?
One of the simplest solutions to this matter is giving James a week off to re-energize himself given the visible fatigue we can see on his face on the court. Given how the Lakers have shown the ability to be a competent team without him this season, a small absence to recharge and come back at his best might be the best route ahead for James and the Lakers.
The wrinkle in this plan is that James intends on playing all 82 games this season, a goal he made clear before the season, but one that head coach JJ Redick openly said might not be ideal for the player or the franchise. The quantity of games James plays isn’t important when the quality suffers, as the Lakers don’t have a hope of competing for a title if James isn’t the star player they need him to be.
Even Kendrick Perkins brought up the fact that LeBron’s body had too many miles and shared an interesting car analogy about why James has dropped off suddenly this season.
A car running perfectly can fall apart after it hits 100k miles. Age 40 might be his 100k. I mean at least that what my grandfather told me when his Oldsmobile stopped running https://t.co/X9CDXne69P
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) December 3, 2024
The Lakers have a favorable schedule from now until their Christmas Day clash against the Golden State Warriors. They take on the Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers, two games against the Sacramento Kings, and then against the Detroit Pistons in this stretch, with all teams being below .500 franchises as of December 3.
This might be the perfect stretch to give James a rest before the grind of the new year, where every game carries more value in deciding Playoff positions.
Another route that the team needs to analyze regardless of how LeBron is producing is adding more talent to the roster, whether it’s behind LeBron or Anthony Davis. The team is simply not talented enough to keep up with the best teams in the NBA, and James’ declining production should signal to Rob Pelinka that the Lakers need more support on the court now than ever.
We don’t know if Pelinka will actually buckle down and make a trade, but if James’ poor form continues and the Lakers find themselves stuck in another battle for a Play-In spot, the organization won’t have a choice.
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