"He had Magic Johnson, James Worthy" - Ex-NBA champ spotlights contrast between LeBron James & Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s late careers
LeBron James' former teammate on the championship-winning 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers suggests that the King needs help in LA, following the star's dismal performance during the Lakers' 109-80 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.
James had a rough game against the Timberwolves. It was his fourth consecutive game without making a 3-pointer. It was also the first time since his rookie season that he failed to tally more than 10 points.
Richard Jefferson said on NBA Today that the reason for LeBron James' lackluster performances could be his high usage rate early in the season.
"Look, (LeBron James) isn't supposed to be carrying this team," Richardson said. "When I look at LeBron, you look at the start of the season, he was in full defer mode. You look at the amount of triple-doubles he was hitting, a career-high consectuive triple-doubles. A couple of weeks later, we have an individual that's struggling to shoot because of the usage rate."
At this point in the 39-year-old James' career, Jefferson thinks the younger players should take on more playing time and rise to the occasion. The former player-turned-analyst then drew a comparison between his former teammate and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s later years, noting that Abdul-Jabbar’s LA Lakers still succeeded thanks to the support he had.
"The only person you can compare (LeBron James) to is (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)," Jefferson said. "When Kareem was at this age, he had Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Byron Scott. He had a much more talented team around him. LeBron needs help."
LeBron James performs poorly in Minnesota
The LA Lakers faced the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night, hoping to notch their second straight win, but they failed miserably, losing by 29 points — their biggest loss of the season. They were also limited to 80 points, their lowest-scoring output this season and one of the lowest in the past decade.
James performed poorly, scoring 10 points on a horrendous 4-for-16 shooting, including 0-for-4 from 3-point range. He added eight rebounds and four assists to his tally but committed six turnovers and posted a game-low minus-28 rating.
It was also his fourth consecutive game without making a 3-pointer. The last time LeBron made a three was when the Lakers played the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 26. Since then, the King has missed 19 3-point attempts in the last four games.
The Lakers dropped to 12-9, falling to eighth in the Western Conference with the loss.