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LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates with teammate Luka Doncic
The Los Angeles Lakers are on a bit of a roll lately, and quite suddenly, all the consternation about the team’s unwillingness to play hard-nosed defense, the inability to knock down perimeter shots and the befuddlement over the way that Austin Reaves, Luka Doncic and LeBron James were unable to fit together and create chemistry has evaporated. L.A. has won nine of its last 10 games, and it has not been a diet of cupcakes–the Lakers beat the Rockets, the Nuggets, the Knicks and the Timberwolves in this run and have established themselves as the third-best team in the West behind the Spurs and Thunder.
For a moment in that mix, it appeared that maybe the team was better without star and future Hall of Famer LeBron James. But he has appeared lately to willingly cede his role as one of the team’s top ballhandlers and shooters to Reaves and Doncic, a change highlighted by his dive to the floor for a loose ball late in the comeback win over the Nuggets last weekend.
And if that’s the case, then the Lakers roster will make that much more sense as a unit that fits.
LeBron James ‘Accepted His Role’
James’ former teammate, ex-Cavaliers center Kendrick Perkins, said there’s plenty of reason to be excited about the way things are coming together for the purple-and-gold.
Speaking on the “Road Trippin’” Podcast, Perkins said, “Bron has accepted his role as the third guy. And that’s OK. He has fully accepted that I’m going to let Luka, Austin Reaves drive this car and I’m gonna benefit off of playing off the ball.
“He leads the entire NBA in transition buckets. The man is 41 years old. He leads the entire NBA in transition points. Think about that for a second. Not, Giannis … not Jaylen Brown, no, it’s LeBron James that leads the entire NBA in transition points.”
As a small aside, Perkins is right in that James leads the NBA in transition field goals made per game, at 2.9. It is Giannis Antetokounmpo who leads in points (free throws and 3-pointers factor in) with 8.0 per game, and Tyrese Maxey of the Sixers is second at, 7.3 points per game in transition. James is third, though, with 7.2 per game.
Lakers Facing Limited Playoff Ceiling in West
While the good vibes around the Lakers have been noticeable, and well-timed–the season has less than a month to go and the Lakers have a 1.5-game lead for the No. 3 seed over the Rockets–there is a rather cold reality staring at the Lakers, and the rest of the West, for that matter.
It’s going to be very hard for anyone to knock off the Thunder or the Spurs.
As Perkins added: “The Lakers got a certain type of synergy going on right now. And I don’t want people to take this as disrespect—it’s unfortunate because their ceiling is second round. And the only reason it’s second round is because they’re gonna have to face one of those top two dogs in the Western Conference and I just don’t—but outside of that, I would sit up here and say on ‘Road Trippin’ today that the Lakers are the third best team in the Western Conference.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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