"LeBron being in and out of the lineup is a trend" - Chris Broussard on LeBron James' struggles with Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis compared to his old partnerships
NBA and LA Lakers superstar LeBron James and his teammates Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis have come under scrutiny after their poor start to the season.
On Fox Sports' morning show First Things First, the Lakers trio were criticized for their slow start to the season and their inability to beat supposedly inferior teams. Chris Broussard, while comparing the trio to LeBron James' past teammates, said:
"In the first 15 games of all of LeBron's big threes, they've roughly had the same record. 8-7 with Kyrie and Kevin Love, 9-6 with Bosh and Wade. Both those two teams went to the Finals. I don't think we are going to see the same thing with this team because LeBron was a lot younger and at the peak of his powers."
After the loss to the Phoenix Suns, LeBron James talked about how the Suns had their superstars while the Lakers were not at full strength. Broussard agreed with this assessment and said:
"Look, what he's saying was factually correct. They just haven't had time together. LeBron, AD and Westbrook, three guys we knew would need time together, have played 15 games. That's it."
Broussard also talked about how injury prone LeBron James has been in the last few years as King James has missed a huge chunk of games for the Lakers. Broussard said:
"The disjointed nature of this team with guys being in and out of the lineup, that's part of who they are now because they are so old. LeBron James has missed 70 games in his three-plus seasons with the Lakers. The first 15 years, he missed 71 games. So, LeBron being in and out of the lineup is a trend, not a blip but a trend."
LeBron's first 15 games played with ...
AD & Russ: 8-7
Kyrie & Love: 8-7
D-Wade & Bosh: 9-6
"The Cavs & Heat both made the Finals. But that was a much younger LeBron & that was LeBron at the peak of his powers. LeBron & AD being out of the lineup is a trend." — @Chris_Broussard https://t.co/Yl2kichSNj
How will LeBron James and the LA Lakers fare without Anthony Davis?
Any team with Anthony Davis is obviously better than a team without the superstar big man. AD is set to be re-evaluated in four weeks' time after suffering a knee injury against the Minnesota Timberwolves. This means that LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will have to get through this festive period without AD.
This season, we have seen coach Frank Vogel experiment with the lineup and deploy LeBron James as the center. This was done in spurts with AD on the bench most of the time. In all likelihood, it will be the way forward for the Lakers right now with Davis' injury.
LeBron James tonight:
34 Points
7 Rebounds
2 Assists
2 Steals
68% FG https://t.co/RFvoU3Gr0C
The idea behind deploying LeBron James as the big man is to space the floor better by surrounding him with shooters and clearing the pathway for him to get to the rim. If LeBron attracts double-teams, then he can dish it out to the open man. While this method has its defensive deficiencies, it does open up the offense a lot more for the Lakers.
But finding a way to fit Russell Westbrook into this is another headache for Frank Vogel. Perhaps Westbrook can run the second unit while LeBron gets some much-needed rest.
Either way, the Lakers are in a world of trouble at the moment in the Western Conference. But despite their poor start to the season, they are only three games behind fourth seed Memphis Grizzlies as the fourth spot would mean home court advantage, at least for the first round of the playoffs.