The Los Angeles Lakers overcame a tough test against the surging Houston Rockets with a 104-105 win at home where LeBron James dominated, dropping 37 points and leading the Lakers to a clutch win.
5 of our last 6. #LakersWin pic.twitter.com/jqq0VrL5gP
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 20, 2023
LeBron James had another fantastic outing against Dillon Brooks, prompting many jokes about their rivalry.
LeBron whenever Dillon Brooks try to poke the bear pic.twitter.com/WFx1yDfwxp
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) November 20, 2023
Anthony Davis had a great performance until his late fourth-quarter ejection, with he and James carrying the roster to this win.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis tonight pic.twitter.com/IOjqFZnEO3
— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) November 20, 2023
James’ incredible clutch performance has fans questioning everything we knew about longevity in the NBA.
Can't believe LeBron is still this good
— Raj C. (@RajChipalu) November 20, 2023
Fans cannot understand how LeBron is still this effective in Year 21.
lebron james is too old to be playing at this level.
it doesn’t make sense
— Coach Rome (@Rome_Beast) November 20, 2023
Fans are genuinely questioning if there’s an end-point to LeBron’s longevity.
https://twitter.com/bansky/status/1726464451136909649
Fans joked about the insane load LeBron has had to take to lead the Lakers to this win.
Lebron carrying the Lakers at age 39 with 37 points pic.twitter.com/wxrXjWkTTG
— ⚜️SSB⚜️ (@aujlaxxo) November 20, 2023
LeBron James added six rebounds, eight assists, and three steals to supplement his incredible 37-point outing. Anthony Davis put up 27 points and 10 rebounds for a dominant double-double, as the pair combined to shoot 25-34 on their shots tonight. The rest of the Lakers combined to short 14-49, though Austin Reaves came alive late with a clutch three and 17 points on the night.
The Rockets were led by a fantastic shooting performance by Dillon Brooks, who cashed in six of his 11 attempted threes for 24 points on the night, along with four steals. Alperen Sengun stood up to Davis and had 23 points and 10 rebounds with five assists on the night. Fred VanVleet also did his best, scoring 15 points with 16 assists.
The Lakers Still Overly Reliant On Their Two Stars
The job of a star on a basketball team is to lead the team to wins when nobody is stepping up. That’s what Anthony Davis and LeBron James did today. However, we know that the Lakers’ stars are going to have periods of the season where they’re struggling with injury and will need the others to step up. If the other can step up now, the load on both the stars is reduced.
Davis is already dealing with a hip injury which has heavily limited his production in recent games. LeBron has stepped up in this time, averaging 33.3 points and 9.7 assists over the last three games. But he’s also averaged 36.5 minutes for this stretch, a completely unsustainable model given his age and recent injury history. Davis is already playing through injuries and James is at risk of getting injured the more he plays.
A third star might not be the solution everyone is hoping it’ll be, as it’ll take away the depth that keeps the Lakers relevant in many of these games. But when D’Angelo Russell has a 1-8 shooting night like he did tonight, the argument to move him for Zach LaVine becomes stronger. Nonetheless, averages level out over a season and most of the Lakers rotation will be hoping to bump their numbers up before February comes and they’re sent to some other team.
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