LeBron James finds himself in an interesting predicament with the Los Angeles Lakers, as he needs to find ways to help out Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
For the first time in his 23-year career, he has not been asked to be a primary on-ball creator, and it takes a lot off his plate. On Saturday against the Denver Nuggets, James found ways to contribute to winning, like diving on a loose ball in the fourth quarter.
When a star is selling out like that, those plays motivate the rest of the team. Ultimately resulting in a thrilling overtime win, which gave L.A. the tiebreaker over Denver.
There’s still work to do, but the Lakers are playing great basketball as of late. Beating a championship-caliber team in the Nuggets, James knows they need to build championship habits like them to keep winning.
“We just want to continue to keep building good habits, continue playing the game the right way. Denver’s a championship ball club, that core with AG (Aaron Gordon), Jamal [Murray], [Nikola] Jokić and Christian [Braun], they won a championship. So they have that championship DNA. So that’s [what] we trying, that’s what we’re striving for.”
Reflecting on the last four years, which featured playoff matchups and regular-season games, there was a clear gap between Denver and Los Angeles. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray would always make timely plays in crunch time, which the Lakers lacked.
A caveat to changing the dynamic was Luka Doncic, who is a generational talent who can win games by himself. Having a star putting up a 30-point triple-double against a Western Conference contender is a positive sign.
The Lakers’ offense continues to trend in a positive direction, but more importantly, their defense took a considerable leap. There is more energy to compete on the defensive end and that resulted in these impressive wins.
Austin Reaves praises LeBron James’ willingness to sacrifice for Lakers
Stars need to alter their game as they age and there is no better example than LeBron James. 23 years and counting, he continues to find ways to impact winning.
James knows scoring will not be an issue with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, so he wants to find other ways to help out his team. Given his resume, he does not have to, but Reaves took notice of the sacrifice and appreciates the willingness to do so.
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