This season more often than not the Los Angeles Lakers have required near-perfect nights to win games. Although they haven’t had many such nights this season, they certainly did against the Golden State Warriors.
Or a better thing to say would be that LeBron James had a near-perfect night. The King exploded for 56 points against his long-time rival Steph Curry and his team. No doubt that LeBron’s efforts helped the Lakers win the game, but what about the aftermath of that victory?
Instead of building upon that victory, the Lakers went on to lose two consecutive games against the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets. Both teams are below the Lakers in the Western Conference points table, so the games should have been close.
That wasn’t the case, and fans might wonder the reason behind it? Of course, looking at the wider picture, the Lakers aren’t having a great season. But NBA analysts Marcellus Wiley and Emmanuel Acho put the blame on LeBron James’ shoulders.
“LeBron James went all out this past weekend not realizing you got two games that are more important than the game you just dropped 56 points in,” said Emmanuel Acho. “So LeBron James ultimately let one win cost him two games and I gotta impart blame LeBron James because while he wowed the crowd and thank you, LeBron James, for it because at the end of the day if I was in Crypto Arena, put up 56 points against Steph Curry, do that entertain me, me, me, I, I, I, mine, mine, mine. But if you’re LeBron James, you got to be calculated. You gotta treat the rest of the regular season like a 7 game playoff series.”
Marcellus Wiley added to Acho’s point, “LeBron James pulled a Tupac out there. All eyes on me when I’m playing Golden State, so let me ball out.”
(starts at 6:15)
James has been on the receiving end of criticism for his low effort on the defensive end of the court. Scoring 56 points at 37 years of age takes a lot of energy and it was definitely on display in the next two games of the Lakers.
But James bounced back in the Purple & Gold’s most recent game against the Washington Wizards. LBJ put up 50 points and helped the Lakers win the game.
Moreover, he now leads the league in scoring with 29.71 points per game to his name. At the end of the day, James shouldn’t have to put so much pressure on his body at 37 years of age. If the other players on the team played as they were expected to, maybe he might be able to play even better.
