LeBron James led the way with 35 points, nine assists and five rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 107-95 on Friday night.
This outstanding performance allowed LeBron to average 25.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game this season, while shooting 39.7% from three-point range.
While this kind of statistics for this season would be impressive for any player, to list these numbers for a player who turns 39 in a month is mind-boggling!
“I put in the work,” the four-time NBA MVP told Lakers reporter Mike Trudell.
That’s quite an understatement.
However, this is LeBron. The 19-time All-NBA selection has high expectations for himself, and it would be surprising if his performance falls short.
The only question left to ask now is: How long can the four-time Finals MVP maintain this level of performance?
Personally, I think this will ultimately be the season where we see a drastic decline in LeBron’s performance. Although due to injuries, his decline in athleticism and overall spark in last year’s playoffs leads me to believe that this is the year LeBron finally looks human.
On the contrary, his shooting has improved, his scoring and playmaking skills are still elite, and LeBron is expected to be selected to the All-Star Game for the 20th time this year.
Will there be another championship game in the near future?
With LeBron still playing MVP-level basketball and Anthony Davis looking like a front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year, the Lakers do have a real shot at taking home the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the 18th time this year.
If LeBron and the Lakers’ performance in the in-season tournament (where they went 3-0 and led the league in points differential at +42) is any indication of how they’ll fare this season, the title race could be very exciting. important. It’s more of a probability than a possibility.
Please stay healthy everyone.