LeBron James has been asked to play off the ball more under new Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick and he admitted he has still not fully adapted to that. Following the Lakers’ 105-104 win over the Utah Jazz at Delta Center on Sunday, James was asked how big of an adjustment, if any, it had been to play without the ball more.
“Oh absolutely. This is the lowest usage rate of my career, so it’s definitely been an adjustment,” James said.
James did have the ball in his hands a lot in this win over the Jazz, though, as both Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell were out. The 39-year-old stated that made things seem a bit more normal to him.
“Tonight felt a little bit more (normal),” James stated. “Obviously, with AR and DLo out, the ball-handling responsibilities heightens more, and I had to do that today. It felt normal for myself, but the way we want to play this year is a little bit different, and I’m adjusting to it as well.”
(starts at 19:57 mark):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_RNu4rfyYQ
James has a usage rate of 27.5% this season, which is the lowest of his career, even lower than his rookie season of 2003-04 when it was 27.6%. For someone who had been so ball-dominant in their entire career, it was always going to be a big adjustment to now give it up.
While James started the season well, he came into this game against the Jazz on one of the worst scoring stretches of his career. The 20-time All-Star had averaged 16.0 points on 42.2% shooting from the field over his last four games but a return to the old ways in Utah saw an uptick in his production.
James finished with 27 points, five rebounds, 14 assists, and two blocks against the Jazz. That’s a pretty good stat line, but he wasn’t efficient yet again, going 12-28 from the field and 0-9 from beyond the arc.
James is now shooting 49.3% from the field in this 2024-25 campaign, his lowest in any season since joining the Lakers. He is also averaging just 22.6 points per game, his lowest since his rookie season.
James is not scoring at a high level the way he used to in the past, but his all-around game ensures he is still very impactful when he steps out on the court. His playmaking was huge for the Lakers against the Jazz and he was directly responsible for 60 of the 105 points (57.1%) they scored in this game. That is impressive, but the Lakers need James to rediscover that shooting stroke if they are to have a successful season.
The narrow win over the Jazz saw the Lakers improve to 12-8 on the season. While it wasn’t pretty, winning the game was the most important thing, as they had lost four of five coming into that contest. They were also missing some key role players like Reaves in this one, so they’ll take the win whichever way it comes.
The Lakers take on the Minnesota Timberwolves next at Target Center on Monday at 8 PM ET. These two teams had faced off on the opening night of the season, with the Lakers winning 110-103, and they’d be hoping for a repeat.
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