The Los Angeles Lakers were finally able to pick up a win since losing leading scorers Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to injury. The Lakers took down the Golden State Warriors in emphatic fashion on the road and to no one’s surprise, it was LeBron James leading the way.
James finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists in the 16-point victory as the Lakers continue to try and settle things before the playoffs begin. The pressure will be on James to lead this shorthanded roster and he is fully prepared to do so, noting that he simply has to go back to how he has played previously.
“Everything,” James responded to Allie Clifton on Amazon Prime when asked what the Lakers need from him. “Nothing changes for me, it’s just back to the old ways. I gotta give them my leadership both on the floor and off the floor. I gotta lead in all facets on the court, both ends. That’s what the job requires, so I look forward to it and let’s see what we can get done.”
James had notably taken a step back with his on-court role, ceding primary scoring and playmaking duties to Doncic and Reaves and filling in whatever gaps the team needed on that night be it scoring, rebounding, defense, or anything else. The mindset of doing anything the Lakers require in order to win hasn’t changed at all, only the requirements.
Playing without Doncic and Reaves, not to mention Marcus Smart, has stripped the Lakers of a large chunk of their scoring and playmaking, as well as their defensive leader. Other players have done a great job of stepping up with Luke Kennard, Jake LaRavia and Bronny James all standing out, but the primary pressure falls on James and he embraces that.
For the majority of his basketball career, even dating back to high school, James has been the player in control of everything on the court for his teams. Now, the Lakers need him to tap back into that and figure out a way to lead this team through the playoffs and James is ready for that challenge.
Lakers release Kobe Bufkin to open up playoff roster spot
The Lakers will be having one new player on the main roster as they are releasing guard Kobe Bufkin, opening up a roster spot for the postseason. The team could sign an outside player if they were released prior to March 1, but the more likely move would be converting a two-way player already familiar with the team such as Nick Smith Jr. or Drew Timme.
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