State of the Los Angeles Lakers: 2018-19 Early Season Review

Same Old LeBron?

LeBron James has still been one of the best players in the league this season. Some people are arguing whether his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, could beat the Duke Blue Devils. While that is a silly debate, it does show how bad the Cavs are without the King while keeping basically the same roster that went to the NBA Finals last season, even though Kevin Love has been hurt.

Now, let’s get into some stats on LeBron this season despite the small 13-game sample size.

He’s averaging 35.0 minutes per game (which would be a career-low), 27.1 points per 36 minutes (the third-best of his career), 8.0 rebounds per 36 minutes (the third-best of his career), 7.3 assists per 36 minutes, and just a 29.6 percent usage rate (which would be the lowest since his rookie year), all per Basketball Reference.

First off, given this Laker team’s pace (105.62 possessions per game, which is third-highest in the league), it is worth noting that it makes his points, rebounds, and assists are slightly inflated if we look at a per possession basis. However, given his mileage and playing in his 16th NBA season, LeBron needs to take on a lesser load, which makes the usage rate and minutes numbers encouraging.

LeBron has also shown a deference to young players down the stretch of particular games. He seems intent on allowing Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Kyle Kuzma to get experience on closing fourth quarters to get them prepared for April and May basketball.

Overall, in terms of actual play, LeBron has been LeBron and I expect him to rev up the effort and intensity on both ends once this team is in the playoffs. His defense, while could be better, has not been terrible. Yes, his closeouts on shooters have been poor. He does tend to stand around and not care.

However, his on-ball defense has been quite solid because he is usually engaged. He is also protecting the rim well. He defends the fifth-most shots per game in the restricted area with an average of 24.6 per game. Of the 17 players that defend at least 23 FGAs per game from the restricted area, LeBron allows the fifth-lowest field goal rate at 61.6 percent, per NBA.com.

Also, playing off a defensive big like Javale McGee or Tyson Chandler has helped the Lakers’ defense a lot. The Lakers with LeBron and McGee on the floor have a stifling 102.1 defensive rating, per NBA.com. With Chandler, it’s been even better. In their 47 minutes played together over these last three games, they have a phenomenal 83.3 defensive rating! LeBron is better when he does not need to be the last line of defense, but a weak side roamer to help when needed.