Lebron is not a top ten player in the nba any more. He was beating derozen and Lowry and a bunch of other decent players almost single handledly 6 years ago l. He is getting run off the floor by Caruso, derozen and vooch. This is gonna be a tough decline to watch.
He went for 31/14/6 and the team was worse when he was on the bench. Seems like a strange post to make after what was a good game from Lebron.
Haha, there you going using your favorite word again! I watched the game, and I have watched a lot of Lakers games this year because of living in the mountain time zone. He definitely does not have the same ability to take over games any more and will his team to victory (something that we expect a top 5 or 10 player to do and have seen Curry, Durant, Giannis, Jokic, George, Doncic, Paul etc do repeatedly this season). His team losing to the Bulls last night in a close game is actually a good example of that, so it isn't really that "strange". Yes, the Lakers are down Davis, but the bulls were down their best player. If you did a little deeper into the stats, his decline is even more evident. From the Ringer:
"The numbers suggest that something is going on. LeBron is averaging career lows in free throw attempts (4.5 per game) and shots within 3 feet of the rim (29.3 percent). It’s the first time the latter has dropped below 35 since his second season in the NBA. Part of the decline is the NBA’s rule changes, but that’s not all of it. He’s also averaging the fewest rebounds since his rookie season (5.9) while posting a career high in 3-point attempts (7.9). He’s not grabbing as many loose balls and he’s settling for more jumpers."
His advanced stats paint an even uglier picture (and I know you like to use these when they suit your argument). His DBPM is currently .3. Aside from his rookie year it has been between 1.2 and 3.7 the rest of his career. His OBPM is 4.3, lowest since his rookie year also. During his prime it was 8-9.5. His rebounding percentage has cratered to 9.3 His PER is also his lowest since his rookie season. Any advanced stat you use shows he is no longer a top 10 player in the NBA. We could argue that he has a switch for the playoffs, but I am just not seeing it. His team needs to win these games now or they will be relegated to the playin tournament/not make the playoffs at all. This isn't a matter of them trying for the 4th seed or chilling to the 6th seed like previous seasons. I will also add it is very funny to use his counting stats, because he is playing way too many minutes also at 37.2 per game. This is his highest since 2016 and 4 more minutes per game than last year.
It is a credit to Lebron and how he takes care of his body that you can semi credibly make this argument when he is 36. But if you are watching the games and dig a little deeper, he really is not impacting the game at a top 5 or ten level no matter what advanced stat you choose to use.
Not to mention his team is 16-15 and that was with Davis having nearly perfect health and Lebron missing 9 games. Compared to the rest of the NBA and COVID decimated rosters, the Lakers have been shockingly healthy.
I am no Lebron apologist but some of his lower advanced numbers are affected by the load of crap he is surrounded with in LA outside of Davis. And Davis isn't playing like a top 10 player or top 3 big man like he has in past years.
While I agree he is no longer a top 5 player, like you alluded to, he is probably a top 2 or 3 player come playoff time. I think he is still top 10 player though.
Why do you describe the players around him as a load of crap? I agree Davis has not played like a top ten player, but he is still probably playing at an all-star reserve level. Carmelo has been a very solid piece. Westbrook is an awful fit, but are we just saying he is a flat our terrible player? I have actually thought Monk has been a solid piece for them and has even won some games late with heroics. Howard is still a solid backup center. Is this really that bad a cast of supporting players?
so the Lakers only have a good team when used to diminish Lebron, but any other time they are old and terrible. You can't have it both ways, either they are old and terrible or they are not?
No one will claim Lebron is the player he once was, he clearly is not, but Lebron is still highly effective when he is on the court and the Lakers are a significantly better team with him then without him, both in full games he has missed and when he is on the bench in games he plays. They fall apart when Lebron isn't in the game in a very large part because Davis has regressed significantly. If you want to talk about one of the Lakers big 2 that has clearly taken a step back, it is Davis. Davis is nowhere near a top 10 player this year and that was before he got injured and will miss at least a month. Without Davis being a legit #2 option, the Lakers roster is a disaster. They absolutely needed Davis to look like a MVP candidate, and he did not.
As for the advanced metrics, it is all a matter of what you use. His TS%, for example, is still a very good at 60% (above his career average and as good as any time in LA), his TOV% is down as his USG%. His BLK% and STL% are both well above his career averages. His FTr is down because he his 3PTr is up, so more of a jump shooter this year - which may or may not be a good a thing, but it hasn't really affected his shooting efficiency (his eFG%, like his TS%, is also well above his career average).
If Lebron had enough games, he'd be 9th in ppg, 8th in spg, and 13th in apg, while still playing with Davis (at least through now) and now Westbrook (who is an excellent rebounder and passer, and who takes a lot of shots). With very good shooting efficiency. That strikes me like a top 10 player and we all know Lebron has another gear when he really locks in and can still play like a top 5 player for long stretches of time. I just can't call a guy averaging 25.9 p, 6.8 a, 6.6 r, 1.7 s, 1.0 b with great shooting efficiency washed up, not effective, or whatever other adjectives you want to use.
