The role players of the Los Angeles Lakers have stepped up in a massive way so far in their first round playoff series against the Houston Rockets and have gotten much deserved praise for doing so. But make no mistake, superstar LeBron James continues to lead the way for this team without their leading scorers in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
James looked like his prime self, especially in Game 2 when he led all players with 28 points, to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists. And Lakers head coach JJ Redick praised James for his continued excellence in transition, as well as the physicality he brings.
“Some of those were in transition. Obviously he’s literally a Mack truck, that’s why we call it the Mack truck lane,” Redick said of James after Game 2.
“You can get out of the way, he’s gonna dunk on you or you can foul him. And so some of those were just him being his dynamic self in transition. But I thought he brought a level of physicality, and he’s done it throughout his career that he’s just really comfortable playing that way. You see that whether it’s him on a backdown or him getting to the basket or he’s drawing fouls. He forces you to match his physicality.”
That physicality is especially important against a team like the Rockets because that is their entire identity. They aren’t a great shooting team, but they are big, physical, great defensively and dominate the glass. But James is bringing the fight to them and while they have great defenders such as Amen Thompson and Tari Eason amongst others, they don’t have the strength to keep James out of the paint.
James has always been one of, if not, the best transition player the NBA has ever seen, but he has also made great strides over the years as a post player. And whether it is on a fastbreak or in the half court on the low block, James is using his body to get where he needs in order for this Lakers offense to click so far this postseason.
LeBron James cautions Lakers after defensive performance against Kevin Durant
The Lakers’ aggressive defense on Rockets star Kevin Durant in Game 2 was one of the biggest stories coming out of the contest. But James warned his team to not get too high as Durant is more than capable of turning things around the next game.
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