What to do with a 41-year-old LeBron James? A Lakers conundrum

There was a time for the Los Angeles Lakers to trade LeBron James, as soon as they made their deal for Luka Dončić, when it was clear — before they ever played a game together — that redundancies in their games, especially on the defensive end, would prevent them from contending for an NBA championship.

We have seen no evidence to the contrary, other than a 23-13 record to start the season, which is good for fifth in the Western Conference, as close to the play-in tournament as they are a home playoff seed.

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Behind the record is a grim tale. They are the first team ever to compile that record while posting a net rating below zero (-0.7), and they are the only team in the top eight of either conference with a negative net rating. By that metric, they fall between the Charlotte Hornets (14-25) and Memphis Grizzlies (17-22).

The numbers have not been pretty for the Lakers when LeBron shares the court with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)

(Luke Hales via Getty Images)

If not for a 13-1 record in clutch games, the Lakers might be out of the playoff race entirely. There can be no doubt that the presence of Dončić and James together has benefited them in that regard, since those two just know how to win close games, and the Lakers can hope for them to do the same in the playoffs.

And they may be right to do so. The thought of facing Dončić, James and Austin Reaves in a best-of-seven playoff series is a terrifying proposition for opponents from an offensive standpoint, though as a trio they have scored only 112.2 points per 100 possessions, or the equivalent of a bottom-five offense.

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Defensively, they are atrocious as a trio, allowing 119.5 points per 100 possessions, roughly the same defensive rating as the nine-win New Orleans Pelicans. They are not much better as a team on the year. The addition of center Deandre Ayton, a No. 1 overall pick, has made no impact on that end whatsoever.

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“We doing s***,” Marcus Smart recently said of the Lakers’ defense. “We’re being real s***ty right now, and it’s showing. ……

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/what-to-do-with-a-41-year-old-lebron-james-a-lakers-conundrum-185642495.html

Author : Ben Rohrbach

Publish date : 2026-01-12 18:56:00

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