LeBron James Scores 56 as L.A. Lakers Defeat Slumping Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors (2015, 2017-18) and L.A. Lakers (2020) have combined to win four of the last seven NBA championships, but both teams entered Saturday's night's matchup mired in slumps; the Warriors had lost three games in a row and seven of their last nine games, while the Lakers had lost four games in a row and eight of their last 10 games. The Lakers and Warriors combined to play an exciting--but far from flawless--game, with the Lakers winning 124-116 as LeBron James scored 56 points, becoming just the fourth player in NBA history to have a 50 point game after his 37th birthday (joining Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Jamal Crawford). The Lakers trailed 67-62 at halftime, but outscored the Warriors 35-22 in the final stanza. Russell Westbrook finished with 20 points on 9-17 field goal shooting
while grabbing four rebounds and dishing for four assists, while Stephen Curry
led the Warriors with 30 points on 13-22 field goal shooting.
James scored efficiently from all areas of the court, shooting 19-31 from the field (including 6-11 from three point range) and 12-13 from the free throw line. This performance provides yet another example of why it is ludicrous to characterize James as a pass first player. Even James, who has often spoken about how much he loves to pass the ball, seems to have grown weary of this misconception, and he recently expressed displeasure at not being acknowledged as a great scorer. James, more so than any other all-time great player, is prone to publicly beg for/demand more praise, and it is not difficult to believe that James meant to send a message about his greatness as a scorer by putting his individual talents on full display in a nationally televised game.
Both teams played small ball for the vast majority of the game. James started at center, and the Lakers did not use a traditional center during the entire game. Kevon Looney started at center for the Warriors, but he only played 13 minutes as the Warriors played small ball for the other 35 minutes. James grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, tying the Warriors' Otto Porter for game-high honors.
As I watched this game, I had mixed feelings about James' performance. I have mentioned many times before that James is the most baffling great player who I have ever watched. His talent is undeniable, and his accomplishments are impressive. Yet, there often seems like something is missing. I have also mentioned many times how difficult it is to score 40 points or more in a game at any level of basketball, let alone in an NBA game. Scoring 56 points on efficient shooting is something that very few players can do, and it is even more remarkable to do this past one's 37th birthday; many Hall of Famers were retired by 37, or else they were playing out the string as reserves. What James did was historic, and we may not see a performance like that by a player of his age for a long time (unless he does it again).
James was very productive when he had the ball, and he was very effective as a rebounder as the biggest player on the court with both teams playing small ball, but when he did not have the ball on offense or when he was not guarding the man with the ball on defense he was very disengaged, which has been a consistent pattern throughout this season. A major reason that the Lakers often trailed during this game and that they had to fight until the end to defeat a slumping team is that James gave up points on defense at almost the same historic clip that he scored points on offense. To their credit, ABC's Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson do not just fall in line with the common media practice of praising James while ignoring his flaws; they understand that you can give James credit for his greatness while also pointing out his deficiencies. Van Gundy repeatedly pointed out times when James did not cross halfcourt on defense as the Warriors scored, and he also singled out times when "help" or the "rotating big man" did not arrive on time (or even move at all), though in those instances he could have more often explicitly called out James by name (James was the only "help" or "rotating big man" in the picture on those plays, so maybe Van Gundy thought that it was obvious who he was talking about).
Van Gundy has a very simple take on what is wrong with the Lakers: without Anthony Davis in the lineup, the Lakers are too old, too small, and too slow to consistently play championship-level defense. The team's only hope is that Davis returns soon, and plays at a high level. Mark Jackson agreed with Van Gundy to some extent, but also said that some of the Lakers' problems could be minimized--if not solved--by playing harder. Van Gundy replied that the Lakers would have better results if they played harder, but he is still not convinced that the Lakers sans Davis are or can be very good.
In my 2021-22 Western Conference Preview, I wrote, "If the Lakers are healthy, they will win the West, and it would be
fascinating to see prime Giannis Antetokounmpo versus elder statesman
LeBron James in the NBA Finals." I could just note that the Lakers have not been healthy and move on, but because there has been so much talk about "fit" and so much effort to blame everything on Westbrook I would like to clarify why I expected the healthy Lakers to be so good, and what I think has gone wrong. My expectation was that Davis would anchor a strong defense, and that Davis, James, and Westbrook would control the defensive rebounds, enabling the Lakers to score a lot of points in transition; I pictured an older, but still potent version of James' Miami Heat teams that featured James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. I expected that in the half court set the Lakers could punish teams inside with James and Davis, much like the 2020 Lakers did en route to winning the title. I knew that Westbrook's numbers would decline a bit, but I thought that his rebounding and playmaking would fit in very well. Instead, what happened was (1) Davis has been hurt for most of the year, and he has not played at peak effectiveness even when he was healthy, (2) James missed a lot of games due to injury, and when he has been healthy he has been much more focused on scoring than on defense, (3) Westbrook has not been provided with a defined role that maximizes his strengths, and he has been turned into the main scapegoat, and (4) the older players who the Lakers relied on to provide bench play have been injured, ineffective, or fallen out of the rotation for various reasons.
There has been constant chatter throughout the season about what is wrong with the Lakers. ABC devoted almost their entire pregame show to the topic, but when Stephen A. Smith and Mike Wilbon do so much of the talking you can be sure that a lot more heat than light is being generated. Smith and Wilbon kept baiting Magic Johnson to blame everything on Russell Westbrook and to call for Westbrook to be benched, but Johnson refused to follow their foolishness. Wilbon mentioned that during the Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen era Scottie Pippen often played with the reserves; Wilbon has brought this up before, and he seems incapable of understanding the difference between staggering minutes so that either Jordan or Pippen is in the game for as close to 48 minutes as possible (which resulted in Pippen playing some minutes alongside several bench players) and removing Pippen from the starting lineup, which Coach Phil Jackson did not do for reasons that are obvious to anyone who is not biased and/or an idiot. Johnson did not correct Wilbon about the Pippen comparison, and Johnson just said that Westbrook needs to play better and needs to accept the high expectations that are part of playing for the Lakers. Johnson added that the blame for the Lakers' failures goes across the board. When pressed about benching Westbrook, Johnson smartly said that he goes to all of the games but he is not in the locker room, the practices, or the meetings so he has to defer to the coach's judgment. Johnson believes that if Davis returns then the Lakers are capable of making a postseason run, and he compared this team to his 1991 Lakers who he said overcame a slow start to reach the NBA Finals.
Johnson is too polite--or too business savvy--to directly tell Smith and Wilbon that they have no idea what they are talking about, or maybe Johnson realizes that this is so obvious to informed basketball fans that it need not be stated, but it was fascinating to hear Van Gundy offer his take during the game telecast. Play by play announcer Mike Breen mentioned that there have been reports about internal strife within the Lakers organization about whether or not Westbrook should be removed from the starting lineup. On the topic of removing Westbrook from the starting lineup, Van Gundy declared, "Whoever made that suggestion does not understand
coaches, coaching, or players." Van Gundy added that you do not bring a player of Westbrook's caliber to a team and then bench him, even if Westbrook has a bad stretch of games. Mark Jackson agreed with Van Gundy that Westbrook has earned the right to play himself out of a bad stretch. Westbrook said as much during a few press conferences, and he was pilloried by media members who attack everything that Westbrook says or does.
Let's be very clear: during yesterday's pregame show, Wilbon proudly noted that he has been making the bench Westbrook suggestion all season-long, apparently believing that repeating a dumb idea enough times will transform that dumb idea into a smart idea. During the game, Van Gundy emphatically stated that anyone who thinks that Westbrook should be removed from the starting lineup "does not understand coaches, coaching, or players." I agree with Van Gundy that Wilbon "does not understand coaches, coaching, or players." I hope that whoever produces NBA programming for ESPN/ABC takes heed, and acts accordingly. It should also be noted that Hubie Brown, perhaps the best NBA color commentator of all-time, has a much different take on Westbrook and the Lakers than Smith and Wilbon.
Earlier in the day on Sirius XM NBA Radio, Sam Mitchell provided a more intelligent take on Westbrook and the Lakers than Wilbon could ever dream of having. Mitchell, a former NBA player and the 2007 NBA Coach of the Year, called the Lakers' treatment of Westbrook "disgraceful." Mitchell said that the organization should be protecting Westbrook but instead Westbrook is just hung out to dry, and Mitchell stated that any intelligent free agent would think twice about signing with the Lakers, because if the Lakers are willing to throw a former MVP/perennial All-Star under the bus then no one is safe. Mitchell also declared that if Westbrook were playing for a team that understood how to use him correctly then Westbrook would average a triple double or close to a triple double. Regarding LeBron James, Mitchell and his co-host Brian Geltzeiler noted that James left Bosh and Wade behind in Miami, and he left Kevin Love behind in Cleveland; it is a pattern of behavior for James to abandon a team (and his teammates) for what he perceives to be greener pastures. Geltzeiler emphasized that James has seemed disengaged throughout this season when the ball is not in his hands.
Labels: Hubie Brown, Jeff Van Gundy, L.A. Lakers, LeBron James, Mike Wilbon, Russell Westbrook, Sam Mitchell
posted by David Friedman @ 12:41 PM
15 Comments:
Great analysis as usual
There's no doubt that LeBron's performance was much needed for the struggling Lakers but it needs to be mentioned more by the talking heads that both teams ran small ball lineups (which only makes it much easier to score) and that LeBron's defense and non-scoring was hurting the team about as much as his scoring was helping them
He might be having the best year 19 season ever but I believe he could do a far better job of helping the team win games but he's been too preoccupied with getting his 25-30 (regardless of outcome) and considering he's often the biggest guy on the floor for the Lakers it doesn't make sense to focus more on scoring than defense. Historically it's always been the biggest player that focused on scoring, the modern rules and spacing philosophies have made it easier for smaller players to take care of the scoring burden and with Westbrook on the team he should be running the offense more
Some tracking numbers available on NBA.Com: https://www.nba.com/stats/players/touches/?Season=2020-21&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&sort=TOUCHES&dir=1
2021 Westbrook: 95.3 touches per game
2021 LeBron: 86.9 touches per game
2022 Westbrook: 79.7 touches per game
2022 LeBron: 88.2 touches per game
While I'll always prefer dominant players that handle about as much as Kawhi/KD/Giannis do (roughly 70-75 touches per game, and historically MJ/Kobe were also in that ballpark) both guys do prefer having the ball and one guy has clearly sacrificed a lot more to make this work (at his own expense)
There are lots of issues with the Lakers that go beyond LeBron (Davis can't stay healthy, they have far more guards than wings/bigs and the wings/bigs they have are in their mid 30s or have the body of a someone in their 50s) but I wish the media mentions it more often that LeBron himself isn't sacrificing. They can hide behind his age but this has been a trend we've seen from LeBron since his best days, it's just been showcased more often in his later years
Kobe in 2013 was leading the league in scoring for a good portion of the season and could have easily just outright focused on scoring his way to a 3rd scoring title (after barely getting missing it in 2012) but his defense stepped up in the latter half of the season and he became more of a distributor. He made the necessary changes when it became clear that his usual role would not suffice even though theoretically having Nash play make, Dwight defend the paint, and Kobe prioritize scoring should have been a very lethal team injuries/chemistry prevented that from happening and he adjusted accordingly. It's clear throughout the season that LeBron isn't willing to make the necessary sacrifice
David:
You nailed it. James 'is prone to publicly beg for praise'. I read an instagram post that according to some source that James said to his teammates 'All I care is us winning, I don't care about the 56 points'. Yet, he posted on his instagram with the caption '56 nuggets'. This has always been his character where he breaks a record or has a good game he will follow it up with an instagram post along the lines of 'pass first player/never aimed for this' blah blah blah. Honestly, I have not seen any great players that brag and wants praise about their performance publicly as much as James.
This season all he is offering is scoring and chasing records. He has not publicly supported Westbrook and has been abysmal on defense. Like JVG pointed out, he has never sprinted back on a turnover or fast break from the opposing team. In fact, he has been this way for the last couple of years. When his teammates get scored on you can see his bad body language and complaining. This is not how your best player and self-proclaimed GOAT should be acting.
I am not sure if you saw his interview with Kenny Smith at the All-Star weekend? He once again proclaimed he is the GOAT after winning the 2016 NBA Finals. To me, apart from his 2012 Finals I feel like there has to be something drastic happen that goes his way in order for him to win a title.
2013: Chris Bosh rebound and Ray Allen game-saving shot in Game 6.
2016: Draymond Green suspension in Game 5, Andrew Bogut injury in Game 5 and (Iguodala was banged up), Curry fouls out Game 6.
2020: Covid hit - reduced schedule more rest for players and the NBA bubble no travel required. Miami Heat was banged up with injuries to Dragic and Adebayo.
I am not taking away his great performances but I just feel like there is always something that needs to happen to help him win, but the fans and media look at it as James single handedly won 4 rings without much talent and fails to give the same credit to Bryant.
Need to clarify that I meant that historically the biggest player focused more on defense which LeBron has deviated from but even then my typo I suppose is still accurate, historically the biggest player was often asked to be the primary scorer and defender but there doesn't seem to be an era where rim protection was/is less important for your big than scoring as we saw from Russell and from Wilt when he went that route of prioritizing defense over scoring. Duncan at age 37 might not have been capable of the offensive production we've seen out of LeBron (even at his peak) but he likely helped his team win more in that 2014 season than LeBron has for the 2022 Lakers due to focusing on defense/rebounding while letting the rest of the team focus on their own strengths
Cyber:
Thank you. The larger point that both you and I are making is that too many media members are unwilling or incapable of providing a nuanced and fact-based analysis of the Lakers (or anything else, for that matter). Their "analysis" consists of hot take soundbites: "LeBron is the GOAT," "The Westbrook trade is the worst ever because Westbrook is playing poorly and is a poor fit," etc. The reality is not so binary: LeBron is great, but he also has substantial flaws that negatively affect his teams and, as you note, this has been true throughout his career; the Westbrook trade has not worked out as intended/planned, but that outcome is less about Westbrook and more about the overall team dynamics.
Westbrook is rarely given enough credit for how coachable he is, how much he is willing to sacrifice, and the adjustments that he has made to his game throughout his career. It was said that he could not be a point guard, but he became a top playmaker. It was said that he could not carry a team, but he became a scoring champion and triple double champion who also brought out the best in his All-Star teammates, including Paul George, James Harden, and Bradley Beal--and, it is worth noting that LeBron is having one of his best individual statistical seasons (at least on offense) while playing alongside Westbrook, which is not an isolated result but fits in with Westbrook's pattern of bringing out the best in his teammates (even at his own expense).
You are correct to note that Kobe adjusted his playing style based on the team's needs, not his individual goals/preferences.
Anonymous:
Thank you.
You are correct that LeBron seems obsessed with being recognized as the greatest basketball player of all-time, and that he focuses on the 2016 title as supposedly the last, irrefutable piece of evidence to prove that point.
You are also correct that many of LeBron's championships hinged on key moments that could easily have gone the other way, but I would note that this is true of many championships. Bill Russell made a key gaffe on an inbounds play, but no one remembers that turnover because "Havlicek stole the ball!" The Celtics won that series, and went on to win the title. Several other Boston championships featured fortunate bounces; those events do not diminish Russell in my eyes, but I would say that they should help us understand just how great Chamberlain, Baylor, and West were to--at various times--push those Celtics teams to the brink. The final championship tally of 11 to 2 for Russell over Chamberlain does not mean that Russell was five and a half times better than Chamberlain. LeBron's championships are a testament to his greatness, but some of them were close calls, and he also lost more often in the Finals than he won, which is relevant when discussing who is the greatest player of all-time.
Anonymous:
When LeBron plays the 5, he has rim protection duties that he is unable or unwilling to do on a consistent basis at this point, and that was very evident during his 56 point game. When LeBron played the 4 or the 5 at times for the Heat and for Team USA he was often a tremendous defender, but that has not been the case this season.
You are correct that the 2014 version of Tim Duncan is worth more team wins than the 2022 version of LeBron that we have seen up to this point. When people call LeBron the greatest player of all-time and insist that the only worthy comparison is Michael Jordan, I push back by noting that LeBron has yet to surpass Kobe, and it is not clear to me that LeBron surpassed Duncan or Shaq, either. I would say that Kobe is the greatest player of the post-Jordan era, with Shaq, Duncan, and LeBron next in line (not necessarily in that order). I'd take Jordan over any of them, and there are pre-Jordan players who are at least as good as LeBron as well. LeBron is securely within the Pantheon, but he has not vaulted himself to the top of the Pantheon, no matter how much Screamin' A and others shout LeBron's praises.
Marcel
Lebron my fourth greatest player ever he played great with 56 points
For 37 he played great on offense
His defense been terrible and effort been spotty
But he lebron
but i cant dispute his defense and effort not been great this year but this game he was great.
Westbrook is not that guy or very good anymore
If he was giving them more production mafic wilbon and others wouldnt critcize
He cant make a jumper
He has too many bad turnovers
And he not finishing at rim great
He gets credit for being available
And giving effort
Ad been a joke he will miss 73 gajes the last 2 years
He never out there always injured
And even when he plays he lack motor that makes the all time greats what they are
He should of never made top 75 team over howard english Irving
And he plays too soft around the rim
If he had a motor he could be giannis it is a shame really
Lakers done unless the west top teams players get hurt and lakers get healthy
Marcel:
LeBron was great on offense in his 56 point game. He was not great on defense, and that has been the case throughout this season.
Wilbon does not know what he is talking about, as I have demonstrated many times. As Van Gundy said, anyone who says that Westbrook should be a bench player does not understand coaches, coaching, or players. That is a great summary of Wilbon's basketball knowledge.
Magic's criticism was different. He did not argue with Wilbon and Smith, but he also did not say the foolish things that they say. Magic said that the Lakers need for Westbrook to play better. I agree. Magic said that there are high expectations for anyone who plays for the Lakers. I agree. Magic said that if Davis comes back and is healthy then the Lakers could still be dangerous in the playoffs. I agree that is possible, though I don't think it is likely. Magic said that if the Lakers don't get out of the Play-In Tournament then the Westbrook trade may be the worst in franchise history. That sounds a bit extreme, but off the top of my head the Lakers have not had many bad trades.
We agree about Davis, but I would not put Kyrie Irving in the top 75, either.
If the Lakers get healthy, stay healthy, and play hard then they could be dangerous, but those are three big "ifs."
@Marcel, I agree Davis should never have made the top 75, especially over Dwight Howard, Alex English, Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili, Tracy McGrady -- the list is long. But that list should in no way ever include Kyrie Irving.
Irving has somehow managed to hoodwink an entire generation of basketball watchers into thinking he's great. Yeah, he scored 50 last night, but that was only his 17th game of the season (his team is 3-14 during those games). He's barely played 1 full season's worth of games over the past 3 seasons! In an age where scoring numbers are inflated, he's never averaged 28, let alone 30 points. His one season at 27 he played a paltry 20 games.
Imagine what McGrady could have scored if he only played 50 games every season -- let alone the all time greats like Kobe and Jordan.
Irving may flash the talent of a top 75 player, but he does not have the accomplishments, nor has he put in the actual amount of games to ever be considered anything but a what if.
Most overrated player maybe ever.
Jordan:
Kyrie Irving was an excellent second option during LeBron James' second tour of duty in Cleveland, including the 2016 title run. Kyrie is overrated by the same talking heads who pretty much are wrong about everything, but he was not voted to the 75th Anniversary Team, he has never received serious regular season MVP consideration, and he has never made the All-NBA First Team, so the award voters have not overrated him. Some commentators have overrated him, though.
James Harden gets my vote for most overrated player ever, because he has actually received awards and honors that should have gone to other players, including being selected to the 75th Anniversary Team.
Jordan and David:
I agree Kyrie Irving from an accomplishment stand point does not warrant Top 75 all-time, but I would argue based on his skillsets he is definitely in that conversation. I 100% agree James Harden shouldn't be on that time over Dwight Howard and Tracy McGrady. I would also take Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard off the list.
I like Pau Gasol and he was a true All-Star but I don't think he should be on the Top 75 team. He wasn't able to achieve much outside of his Lakers tenure and he benefitted from playing with Bryant. I think Paul Pierce said on All The Smoke podcast that Bryant basically toughened up Pau Gasol and made him a Hall of Famer.
Anonymous:
If we are just talking talent/skill set, then there are many players who could be in this conversation. The 75th Anniversary Team is (or should be) about more than just talent/skill set. Has Irving maximized his talent/skill set to the extent that he deserves to be on that list? I would say that he has not.
Gasol was a one-time All-Star who had yet to win a single playoff game--not a series, but a game--before joining forces with Kobe Bryant, which is by far the best thing that ever happened in Gasol's basketball life. Gasol is probably a lock for the Hall of Fame after winning two rings with Kobe, but Gasol would not have received any HoF consideration prior to playing with Kobe unless the International Committee nominated him; he had zero chance of making the Hall of Fame as an NBA player without Kobe. Pierce sometimes has some wacky takes, but he is 100% right that Kobe toughened up Gasol and turned him into a Hall of Famer. If that transformation had happened a bit sooner, the Lakers could have won three titles in a row, but Gasol was not quite ready for KG and company in the 2008 NBA Finals.
@Anonymous
You're damn right they don't give Kobe his credit if it was him on this team struggling they would be calling him selfish and criticize his shot selection.
David, your points about Pau Gasol are well documented here and I agree with them. But, to hammer my point about Kyrie home even more, Irving is a career loser in all games he hasn't play with Lebron or Kevin Durant -- two of the top 25 players to ever play.
Irving's career won/loss record without LB/KD is 150-178. A winning percentage of 45%.
At least Gasol had winning records with Memphis and carried that team to the playoffs. Same for Harden (as much as I loathe his gimmicky game and feel like you that he stole awards from others more deserving). At least Harden proved he could carry a team to the playoffs while shouldering the burden of actually playing in games. Here's a wild comparison, in Harden's 8-year tour with the Houston Rockets, he played in 621 games. Kyrie for his entire 11-year career, has only appeared in 599.
The young Celtics went farther in the playoffs without Irving, than they did the following year with him.
Irving is a fraud. You could pick at least a dozen players that would have been just as good if not better second bananas to Lebron James.
@anonymous, while David and Pierce are correct in the effect Bryant had on Gasol's NBA career, Gasol achieved plenty outside of his partnership with Bryant. He was a 3x ACB champion, one time ACB MVP, 2006 FIBA champion, 2x Olympic silver medalist and 1x Olympic bronze medalist with Spain as the clear cut leader and best player of all three teams. His Spanish team pushed Redeem Team to the brink before Bryant took over and willed the US to the gold (David has a remarkable recap of this game right here on this blog).
Gasol's international play along with his 2 NBA championships and 3 finals appearances make him more worthy of the top 75 than Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Carmelo Anthony, and James Harden. Though, I do think arguments can be made for others to be included over Gasol. Dwight Howard for sure. He's the worst snub in my opinion.
Jordan:
I agree with you that Irving is not a Top 75 player, and I agree with you that a major problem throughout his career has been his lack of availability. I would not call him a "fraud." He hit clutch shots and he had big-time performances during Cleveland's championship run. It is possible that other players "could" have done the same if they had been in that position, but I am more apt to give credit to what happened than to give credit for what "could" have happened. Regarding Irving's record without LeBron and Durant, there are a variety of contextual factors at play, but I would just say that we agree that Irving is not fit to be the number one option on a championship team. We probably disagree about his value as the second option on such a team.
You are correct that Gasol had a great FIBA career. It is even possible that his FIBA career would have been enough to earn HoF induction via the International Committee even if Gasol had never played with Kobe, but the Top 75 Team--rightly or wrongly--is based strictly on NBA play, not international play, ABA play, or anything else. I can't see a justification for putting Gasol on the 75th Anniversary Team solely based on his NBA career.
We agree that Howard was the biggest snub. Howard is one of the most dominant rebounders and defensive players in NBA history. I rank Howard not only in the Top 75, but in the Top 50.
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