"It's a problem, a big problem that he's playing that well and losing" – Nick Wright irked about LA Lakers' subpar results despite LeBron James' stellar play
Even as he celebrates his 37th birthday Thursday, LeBron James has had a slew of incredible performances over the last couple of weeks. But despite his efforts, the LA Lakers have continued to swoon.
On Fox Sports' morning show "First Things First," Nick Wright talked about how great James has played even as the Lakers slump. Nick Wright said:
"They are 1-5 (in the past six games, during which James has scored at least 31 points in each)," Wright said. "Lebron's playing his best basketball he's played in his entire Lakers run aside from the playoffs when they won the championship. They are 1-5. It's a problem. It's a big problem that he's playing that well and losing."
Despite James dropping 37 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out seven assists on 52% shooting, including higher than 57% shooting from beyond the arc with eight 3-pointers, the Lakers still lost 104-99 at the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Lakers (17-19) are in seventh in the Western Conference, five games behind fourth-place Memphis (22-14).
How good has LeBron James been this season?
In his 19th season, LeBron James has been playing at an MVP-caliber level and is still arguably the NBA's best player. "King James" is averaging 28.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game while shooting 52%, including nearly 37% from the perimeter.
James has missed 12 games this season, with the Lakers losing seven of those. This perfectly encapsulates the season the Lakers are having. With championship aspirations, they haven't been playing at that level.
On Tuesday, LeBron James became the youngest player to reach every round number milestone in points: 1K, 2K, 3K, 4K, 5K, 6K, 7K, 8K, 9K, 10K, 11K, 12K, 13K, 14K, 15K, 16K, 17K, 18K, 19K, 20K, 21K, 22K, 23K, 24K, 25K, 26K, 27K, 28K, 29K, 30K, 31K, 32K, 33K, 34K, 35K and 36K. https://t.co/cag553r4lm
James has even played a new position as coach Frank Vogel has deployed James at center, with Anthony Davis out with an injury. Even in the new role, James has continued to influence games.
James is having to carry the workload like never before in his illustrious career barring the 2017-18 season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Ironically, Russell Westbrook was brought in to take some load off of James' shoulders, but their failure to establish chemistry thus far has seen LeBron need to do even more.
LeBron is averaging 35/10/7 on 57/40/82% in the last 6 games.
The Lakers are 1-5 in those games.
That should be a crime. https://t.co/GbvyBGO4Ye
The only reason James isn't a frontrunner in the MVP race is because of where the Lakers are in the Western Conference. His numbers are arguably better than ever as James continues to be a beacon of hope for Los Angeles in its pursuit of an 18th championship.