He does not have much explanation, or rather none because he is 37 years old and has literally spent more than half his life (he played the first game at 18 years and 303 days) in the NBA. But surely the explanation to LeBron James is that there is no explanation. AND problem solved. In a year of shipwreck, of ruins and bad news piled one on top of the other until the tower has overshadowed the present and the short-term future of the team, surely the only thing left for the Lakers (and, seen like this and being where we are, it is not little) is to enjoy nights like this one from LeBron James. The ills of the team have an explanation, a rosary of errors that we will continue to repeat as much as it takes (some of them by LeBron himself). But you are supernovas of its great star, no. And that remains: forever.
Less than a week after scoring 56 points against the Warriors, LeBron returned to the old Staples (now Crypto.com Arena) and he stacked 50 on the pale figure of the Washington Wizards. In between, of course, was the calamitous loss in Houston. And, without him, another missed opportunity for his team in San Antonio. The clouds have not disappeared and they will not, but it is better to put a brave face before any ray of sunshine, because they do not abound in these Lakers. AND It is better not to take LeBron James for granted, not to normalize what is certainly not normal and not stop enjoying the latter (because are the lastright?) downloads of fury and basketball of the best or second best player in history. There is no more debate. The final 122-109 does not fix anything, but encourages. For the forms, not for the background. For the inexplicable.
Those two games (106 points between the two) are the only ones the Lakers have won since the All-Star break. Anthony Davis is still out and his return is nowhere near. And Russell Westbrook is deep in that hideous labyrinth that has turned his life into a nightmare. Homecoming: 5 points, 9 assists, 2/11 field goals, 1/4 free throws… Everything is still just as bad, but there are these seismic kicks of a LeBron unleashed. Gesticulating, putting the public in his fist, giving one last show while reality warps his team. That now is 29-36 although he catches his breath because the absences of the Pelicans have allowed him to hold on, at least, to ninth place. For the Wizards (an almost identical 29-37) the loss is another false step, one on a day in which the Hawks and Hornets also won. The tenth place, the last car of the playoffs, is two and a half games away.
They went back to Los Angeles Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma (23 points, 7 rebounds): hugs, applause and tribute video to two important players (especially the shooting guard) in the 2020 ring. A breath ago, it seems like a century ago. Porzingis played, who took very little advantage (14 points, 14 rebounds, 3/13 shooting) from the lack of personnel in the Lakers’ interior rotation. The Wizards were a featherweight who, yes, took advantage of one of the Lakers’ disastrous basketball stretches, inevitable even on positive nights like this: from 26-17 in the 10th minute to 52-61 at the beginning of the third quarter, with low energy and a doughy feeling of more of the same in the stands. Then something happened LeBron James happened: after 17 points in a correct first half, 19 in a tremendous third quarter (12 in a row in full comeback) in which he linked tremendous dunks, triples of maximum temperature, penetrations with additional free throws… amnesia for the fans, who forgot the general state of affairs and they plugged in like they were playoffs. What a remedy: here we have come to have fun. And another 14 points from the King in the last quarter (33 in total in the second half), when the visitor’s momentum (91-89) was definitively extinguished (119-101 before a placid last two minutes).
50 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists. 18/25 shooting, 6/9 3-point shooting, 8/8 free throws. +22 in 36 minutes on track. With 37 years. Yes, it’s obvious: as against the Warriors, it was clear that nights are needed So, unusual, for the Lakers to win games. It’s depressing and it is what it is. But the good times are to be enjoyed, while the bad times get worse on all four sides. It’s the first time LeBron has hit 50 twice in the same season. He is the oldest with two games of 50 points (until now it was Bernard King, 34 years old in the 1990-91 season). And he’s the first Lakers player to make two straight 50s in LA since Kobe Bryant in 2008. No explanation, just appreciation. Don’t take your eyes off it.
The energy of LeBron, who overtakes Joel Embiid and is now the top scorer of the season (29.7 on average), opened wide a good second half for the Lakers: 70-50. Westbrook didn’t plug in, but at least he didn’t get in the way. And the others answered: the intensity of Stanley Johnson and Wenyen Gabriel, Monk’s talent (21 points, 5 triples), Horton-Tucker’s brave strokes (15), Reaves’ intelligence (12+5+3)… basic accompaniment for a unique, superior, legendary player. That even in a bad year, a lousy one collectively, is leaving a few of those mona lisas that are only within your reach. No one else’s.
