Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick showered LeBron James with praise after their 107-99 win over the Dallas Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday. In his postgame press conference, Redick was asked about James being one of the Lakers’ best defensive players and claimed he has been playing at an All-Defensive level.
“He defies what’s normal,” Redick said. “… LeBron’s playing at an All-NBA defense level. He is. People may have perceptions of what he is as a defender. I watch it every night. He doesn’t get scored on in isolation if teams do try to target him. He blows plays up, he’s always in the right position, shifting, recovering.
“I think there was this perception of him at this age conserving energy,” Redick added. “No, there’s no conservation of energy on that end of the floor. He’s played elite defense now for a while.”
James has an impressive defensive rating of 105.2 in his last 14 games. For some context, that would rank 12th among players who have played at least 20 minutes this season.
James and the Lakers, as a whole, have been defending at a high level lately, and it’s a big reason why they have won 13 of their last 16 games. In this latest win, they limited the Mavericks to 35.7% shooting from the field, and that’s certainly a recipe for success.
While James did his part defensively against the Mavericks, it was on offense that he really shone. The 40-year-old scored 16 points in the fourth quarter alone to drag the Lakers to victory and finished the night with 27 points (11-17 FG), 12 rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
In that postgame press conference, Redick admitted the Lakers wouldn’t have won if James hadn’t taken over.
“Bron just kind of took over that game,” Redick said. “And felt like he was making a lot of plays with the ball and made some plays that don’t show up on the box score… We don’t win the game if Bron doesn’t take over.”
Redick also praised the likes of Dorian Finney-Smith and Luka Doncic for ensuring the Lakers got the win, but there is no denying who was most responsible for it. It’s simply incredible that James can still keep playing this well in his 22nd season on both ends of the floor.
James will almost certainly be making the All-NBA team once again this year, but it’s unlikely he will get into the All-Defensive team for the seventh time in his career. He last made it all the way back in 2014, and the chances of being selected all these years later are slim.
As Redick pointed out, James has earned this reputation for coasting on defense during the regular season, which hurts his cause even further. Considering his raw averages of 24.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game aren’t impressive from a defensive standpoint either, it’d be a shock if he gets voted in.
James wouldn’t be stressing too much about that, though, as his focus remains on winning. He will be in action next when the Lakers take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday at 10:30 PM ET.
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