Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is rounding into form as he gets his legs under him. He missed all of training camp, the preseason and the first month of the regular season, and it showed when he returned to the lineup. But he now looks to be his normal self, scoring 26 points on 8-of-14 from the field on Sunday night to go along with seven rebounds and 10 assists in a
win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
He also got to the free throw line 10 times, going 8-of-10 on the night. In his last 11 games, he is getting to the free throw line seven times a game, despite significantly fewer touches than LeBron has become accustomed to over the years.
As he goes through this season — even in a new role coming off of a more significant injury-filled summer — James’ focus remains on just enjoying the ride and not thinking too much about the future.
“Just appreciating every moment, obviously, and just, you know, excited about what the next moment has, if it’s during the game or if it’s tomorrow or whatever the case might be. So just for me, like I said, it was the first time I’ve ever not been ready for the start of the season. I missed the whole preseason, the whole training camp, missed the first 14, whatever, 15, whatever games it was. So, behind the eight ball and I couldn’t really train like I’m accustomed to training in the summertime,” James said.
“So, I was behind the eight ball but just being able to appreciate it and getting another opportunity to be able to get my body where it needs to be to go out and perform with these guys, perform against the opposition but also knowing that, like I said, my time is definitely on, I’m on the other side of the hill than the first part of the hill. So, I mean, I just appreciate it all.”
LeBron does believe, though, that his work to become a complete player has allowed him to shift into different roles while still remaining effective once his legs are under him.
“I don’t know, just being a complete basketball player,” James said. “I have to be able to change the landscape of how I play up according to how our team wants to play. So, you know, I’ve been playing off the ball obviously pretty much the majority of the season. So, picking spots and figuring out ways how I can still be productive to help us play winning basketball when I’m on the floor both offensively and defensively. So, I don’t know. I don’t have any holes in my game. So, it helps to be able to be able to do whatever the team needs at that particular moment.”
LeBron has been asked to shape-shift in a pretty significant way since the acquisition of Luka Doncic. For the first time in his career, the team he’s on wasn’t built entirely around him. However, he has shown that when he’s at full strength, he has no problem adapting his game to better serve Luka and the Lakers.
That should only continue to grow as the season progresses and James gets further removed from the injury that started his season late.
LeBron James compares Luka Doncic & himself to quarterback & receiver
James and Doncic have begun to figure it out together in recent games, especially as injuries mount and the duo has been forced to carry the roster together. And one way that
LeBron felt his relationship with Luka was describable was as a football duo.
“One of the best quarterbacks and I’m a pretty good receiver, when it comes to that,” James said. “It’s my job to not allow the defense to break that up or steal the ball. And he put it right on target, and made it a lot easier for me.”
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