For the vast majority of his nearly 20-year career, LeBron James has excelled on drives to the rim over taking perimeter jumpers. While the King has vastly improved his range over the years, it’s not where his strengths lie, and it’s the part of his game that is the least reliable.
This season, for whatever reason, James is taking more jumpers than ever and missing them at an astounding rate.
During Sunday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, James looked especially rusty from three, heaving up some airballs from deep that drew some criticism from the fans. They even started comparing James to Michael Jordan with the Wizards, who was pretty far out of his prime at that point of his career.
Bron giving MJ wizards vibes 😂
— Marv Walker (@putuonaposter) November 6, 2022
i don’t think I’ve ever seen LeBron airball this badly before.. his 2nd of the game pic.twitter.com/HRwjz7i3hr
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) November 6, 2022
LeBron's never been known for his shooting, but I haven't seen this many airballs from him in a condensed period like this shooting. And airballs are indicative of lower body mechanics. I think you guys can visibly see that he just has little to no lift on his jumper right now.
— Richard Staple, BSN, RN🇯🇲 (@RichStapless) November 6, 2022
https://twitter.com/_nolimitja/status/1589383884684558337
"LEBRON WITH THE JUMPER" pic.twitter.com/TQd5JEiEGz
— 𓅊 (@itsndyj) November 6, 2022
LeBron is officially in his Wizards MJ phase 💔💔
— HoodieBev (@HoodieBev) November 6, 2022
https://twitter.com/lakersrtrash/status/1589385236093489152
LeBron James Is Reportedly Dealing With Illness That Has Limited His Performance This Season
The signs are not good for James, but there may be more going on than just Father Time. As LeBron revealed a few days ago, he’s been dealing with an illness that has kept him from practicing with the team. According to James himself, it has prevented him from finding a rhythm during games.
Speaking to the media post the win, James revealed that he was sick and could barely clamber out of his bed.
“I’ve been better. Today was the first day I got out of bed since Sunday night after the game. I missed the Halloween party without my guys on Monday. Soon as I leave here I’m going back to bed for sure,” James said. “I knew I wasn’t going to have everything. All my juice, all my bounce, my spring. If I’m in the lineup, I’ve got to try to make plays. Was I great tonight? Absolutely not. Missed a lot of shots around the rim. There was a lot of miscues on defense, but just trying to get my guys as much energy and AD is doing the exact same. Until we continue to get our mojo flowing, we all feel really good as a team. We’ll just lean on each other. That’s what team sports is all about.”
Whatever is going on with LeBron right now, it’s clear he is not feeling like himself. So far this season, he’s only averaging 24 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 7.5 assists on 43.1% shooting (well below his career average).
The only saving grace for the Lakers has been the play of Russell Westbrook, who has been a completely different player off the bench for them.
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