What LeBron James continues to do in his 22nd NBA season is truly unbelievable, but it impossible to deny that there has been some slippage as there should be in this stage of his career. The last couple of weeks, however, have been even more of a struggle as the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has been in a bit of a slump.
James seemed to bounce out of it against the Miami Heat, knocking down 12-of-18 from the field for a team-high 29 points, but prior to that it was rough sledding. This has led some to wonder if everything is finally catching up to LeBron and he is finally getting to the point where he needs to retire.
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green isn’t ready to go that far just yet, however. On the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show, Green said that he feels LeBron has hit a wall from not having time off this summer and while Father Time catches up with everyone, he doesn’t believe this is the end of the Lakers star being dominant:
“Is Father Time catching up to him? Absolutely because Father Time catches up to everyone. However, where I disagree is, people are saying ‘Oh, we just saw it. He’s done now, we’ve been waiting on it, now he’s done.’ No, no, no I disagree with that. And the reason I disagree with that is because, quite frankly what it looks like to me right now is he’s a little tired. But you also have to remember, and I know all of y’all have forgot because you forget things so fast. You know they played into the playoffs last year. They fought an uphill battle to actually make it there and get to the playoffs. And then he comes in and he does the Olympics, no time off. I think Bron has just hit a little bit of a wall right now. The way people are trying to throw it out there like ‘Father Time has caught him and it’s here in our face and we’re just about to watch this decline happen.’ No chance.”
Even while acknowledging the obvious drop-off for LeBron, he is still far above the level anyone at this stage of their career has ever been at. Draymond is right to note that the Lakers push to the postseason, followed by his Olympic commitments and then right back to training camp for this season was a lot to put on his body and likely has contributed to a bit of an early-season wall.
However, James has always bounced back and is already beginning to do so with a strong shooting night in Miami. The focus for LeBron remains on getting the Lakers as a whole on track and even with a little decline he is still capable of blowing straight through that wall.
LeBron James believes Lakers need to communicate better on defense
Far more important for LeBron James than any individual struggles are the issues plaguing the Lakers and they are numerous. Defensively the team has been abysmal and LeBron spoke on what he feels is the biggest issue.
LeBron said the Lakers’ communication is not where it needs to be right now, adding that there are too many good teams in the league and they will make you pay for every mistake, which is exactly what is happening to the Lakers on a nightly basis.
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